Does anyone know if they drug test before hiring? Or on a regular basis once you work there?

I have worked with one of the more famous high-performance HFs. BW has something like 6% annual performance. It is more like a StateStreet or Blackrock or Pimco. Big assets but lousy performance. I think the pay is probably similar… where they see 500k or a few million as a large paycheck which is not competitive with better hedge funds. Their is no “pay for performance” and I dont see many ex-BW guys around the industry (except for a few disgruntled guys who got out fast). Name a BW guy who left and started his own fund? I can name zero. Tells me they dont really pay well.

I have interviewed with about 8 people including 2 people I would speculatively describe as “in the top 10″. The lower level guys were ex-McKinsey types. They really had no idea what they were doing in asset mgmt, trading, or at a hedge fund. They could just as easily be in corporate mgmt at GM or working at Google. For people like me, who live markets, thats hilarious. They know so little. I tried to teach them a few things. They had zero answers to some very basic finance / markets philosophical puzzles and introspective questions. Didnt seem that interested and, I dont know if its the lack of focus, were just very weak thinkers. Kinda said, “I dont know” to very broad questions about alpha, markets, methods. A few put me through a McKinsey case, which showed what brainless duds they were. Didnt even make it about trading, alpha, or financial mgmt. Just a dumb “lemonade stand” style McKinsey case. I went through the motions (and I do “data-driven analysis” stuff well. my test scores are perfect and I’m a good communicator so BW is an easy interview.)

The top guys: one at the very top was arrogant, but not particularly astute. We talked at some length about how teams I have worked with have produced outstanding results. He asked alot of questions but I would call his mindset – “skeptical AND lazy”. This is a hard combo to deal with. Its one thing to be skeptical, ask questions, be inquisitive. But one needs to put forth effort to discern value and learn. Without that post-question effort, the skepticism just falls flat. I would rather you not waste my time with the question. Or just listen and nod and walk away with whatever opinion you already have. Ask a question only because you want to know the answer. Work hard with me.

The other guy at the top (more like #6-8-10) was broadly sharp. Quick questions. Quick judgement on high-level issues. But he was ex-McKinsey type and not 100% focused on hedge fund work. Probably just happy to have his job and trying to keep his head down and get that next bonus, based on Ray’s big bet (oops, down 7% in Dec, man!).

I suspect they are over-staffed. I have worked with much smaller teams where AUM per person is as much as 10x greater and performance is much better. I’m reasonably senior and pretty demanding, so we never got to the offer stage. I suspect they did not like how direct my approach is, how confident I am in performance.

All this said, I dont have any negative feeling towards them. The whole point of my meeting with them was I think I could straighten out performance. I would probably cut 1/2 the staff bloat (or more) and make separate teams more accountable for real delivered performance. See the weakness in Ray Dalio’s principles… is that “argument” and “open debate” is NOT at all the key to truth. Results are. They best people I know in the business dont want to “win arguments”, and especially not with a large group of mediocre minds. They just want to “win on the field” and produce consistently better results. The idea of the principles is correct… but no argument is necessary. Just a darwinian performance process where the best teams, and PM survive. And losses get cut.

So easy. No drama. No “personality cult culture” BS. Just a culture of worshipping “profit” and excommunicating “losses”. That is game we have chosen.

Anyway, sorry for my rant. For you young guys… if you want to play the game like me — I suspect DE Shaw, SAC, Brevan, Paulson, or any large bank are probably better for future careers. If you want to play politics… go to a big management consulting firm or BW.

At first glance the pay looks good but do the math: 100k a year was what I made. I worked on average 13hrs. a day, 6 days a week. (At the office mind you bc most jobs at BW are not allowed to have work from home permissions). Hourly it isn’t that great.

Someone above asked if Admins. were meant to work the same hours as finance people. Yes is the answer. Maybe not 6 days a week but you can expect to work at least 11-12 hours a day.

More importantly to the person that asked about relocation: I did that. I left the city and moved to CT. I would not advise full relocation. I would get in to BW, see what it’s all about and see if you are going to stay (as the turnover rate is 18 months) and then make that plunge. Just what I think would had been a better decision from my end.

Feel free to provide feedback/comments.

What I am most interested in learning and have concerns about given the above posts, is whether there is also an element of humility and respect given to the individual? I am all for direct and open feedback to someone’s ideas, views and performance. I do believe, however that there is a way to disagree with someone’s views and even point out flaws in their logic, without humiliating or overly criticizing them. I think some of the best ideas and solutions come out of brainstorming even when ideas are not fully developed. True excellence often comes from sharing and discussing ideas and potential approaches and building upon them through the collaboration of many. Based upon some of the previous comments, my concern is that the culture may be too harsh and cause those who are more extroverted to stop sharing ideas until they are fully developed and cause those who are more introverted to stop sharing ideas altogether. I hope that is not the case as both of these results can stifle the creativity and excellence that BW desires to achieve. I am hoping someone can speak further to this issue and let me know their views on whether there is a balance here. I am hoping that the culture really is more about true collaboration and challenging of ideas in pursuit of the best result versus competitiveness and oneupmanship. Sometimes people believe that by pointing out others’ weaknesses, they themselves show they “add value”. Unfortunately in this manner, people get torn down instead of being built up to enable them to do their best work.

Thanks in advance for your responses. I am hoping that BW is the type of place I seek that is stimulating, challenging (yet supporting) and rewarding. I don’t mind working hard and being challenged in an appropropriately respectful and thought-provoking way. I do suppose one’s experience at BW also has to do with the maturity and professionalism of your particular business area leader and direct manager? On a final note, I am surprised for the relatively small size of the organization (800 associates?) that the senior leadership is stated to be somewhat removed from he general population and out of touch. Is that really true? I hope that is not the case. How is the HR leadership there? Are they helping the business leaders shape and ensure a positive culture that still fits with the guiding principles that Ray has established?

I appreciate the diversity of opinions and comments thus far. It is nice to see that there are no lukewarm opinions. I would rather see strong opinions for or against the culture than a lukewarm response.

I have an interview at Bwater in 2 weeks for this position. Any information will be useful

First, a decent amount of the info posted has some truth to it, but only at a very basic sense. Yes, people have huge egos. Yes, the power structure is very top heavy. Yes, you work long hours. Yes, it can be soul-draining. Yes, the compensation is very good. Yes, the Bridgewater culture is something the company truly (tries) to live by, good and bad. Yes, a lot of the workers are ‘young guns’ straight out of ivy-league schools. HELLO- none of what i said above (save the Culture part) is different at ANY top financial job. You think the IB’s at Goldman dont have egos, work 15 hours a day, and come from Harvard or equiv? So for any of you who would use the previous paragraph as reasons to not want to work for Bridgewater, then you probably aren’t cut out for the financial world in general. That’s just how it is.

For full transparency- I am a current employee at Bridgewater, but have only been working under a year, and I don’t have one of the top-paying jobs for people my age (26). So, I have no reason to pump up the company just to try to make it sound good. Yes, I’m glad to be working here, but I am so far down the totem pole that I have nothing to gain by trying to “trick” random strangers into thinking highly of our company. Bottom line is, you dont become the biggest (in terms of AUM) and best (based on industry surveys; I know the term “best” can have many meanings) by being a terrible company.

Now, having said that, bridgewater CAN be a VERY tough place to work. We have one of the highest turnover rates of any legit company. Part of that is because of the incredibly high standards, and part of that is because many people used to the more “typical” corporate world, really CAN’T (or don’t want to) handle the bridgewater “principles” and “cultures”. (Note- i put these terms in parenthesis not because i think they are foolish, but simply because they are actual terms we use). The people in the big money roles world ungodly hours sometimes, but again, that’s industry-standard. Anyone working in IB or PE or consulting can tell you that.

As for pay, the Bridgewater motto is “north of fair”. So if you are a research data analyst, and the numbers show that a typical DA at a tier 1 HF make X, bridgewater typically offers in the 75th%. They dont want to lose top talent due to money, but they dont believe in insanely wild offers either. Also, BECAUSE bwater is so unique, they do not offer as high compensation in the beginning (your first year) as they do each year after that. Because they know many people wont stick around after 1-2 years, but those that truly DO fit, get rewarded accordingly.

Also, i can PROMISE you, all these people above writing the nastier things (no one does any work; nothing gets done; its a big pissing contest) are people who got fired or couldnt handle the job in one way or another. Because like I said, you dont get some of the biggest pension funds in the world to give you their money if “nothing gets done”. Its simply not true. Yes, bridgewater believes in seeking truth at all costs, and perfection- so yes there are many meetings, and diagnosises, etc. and the company admits as much, saying sometimes things get done slower than at other places, because they value the best result more than simply acheiving SOME result.

As to the interview process- again, because bridgewater places such a high value on their culture and principles, yes the interview process is not a typical one. For example, for MBA students applying for investment associate roles, you will have NO investment-related questions in your interview. Bridgewater believes in their leaders and trainers, and they would rather hire an incredibly smart person with no financial experience, and try to train them in the Bwater way, than some hotshot who knows “everything” about the economy and is set in his beliefs. Those who are turned off by the interview experience, its kind of sad really, because the HR reps are great and tell everyone exactly the type of interview to expect- i know from experience, because when i was applying, i was explicitly told there would be no financial-type questions in the interview. Basically, if you graduated with top grades from a top school with a degree in finance/econ, and worked in a financial job, they dont need to ask you questions you have clearly studied for just to hear you regurgitate information. Obviously, you know something about the markets to make it that far. They are much more interested in evaluating you through “life” and “fit” interviews. (Obviously, the preceding does not apply to higher-level positions, such as head of research and what not).

Bottom line- i love working here, but i know the company (like any) has its fault. but to me, weighing the pros vs cons, i truly think its a unique place to work, the perks are amazing, you are surrounded by insanely intelligent people (and, yes, egotistical, but not all), and as corny as it sounds, it does truly breed a “family” like atmosphere. It’s definitely not a place for everyone- but if you are cut out for it, you will love it. I’d suggest REALLY reading the website (bwater.com) and reading Ray’s (the founder) philosophy page. the company really does work with that M.O.

Hope this has helped…

I currently work in a PE firm right now and very happy with my job with a very flexible schedule. Is it worth taking the risk of relocation. I am so glad I stumbled on this website.

I don’t claim to know everything but I know some things about my jobs. Who asks for definition of processes as they understand it.. that is so bookish!. All I know is it is not a good fit for people who want a good life .. why do you want to add useless stress by communicating with people who have lost all their maturity and decency !

My two cents : Run as far as you can if you love to live your life to the fullest !

There were 2 other candidates besides me in the interview room. The HR person who claimed to be a recent Princeton graduate (undergraduate class of 3 years ago) stated that she was an “issues” consultant for special projects and that the Finance department had a lot of issues. She also constantly talked about how she didnt give a damn about stating her opinion and on a regular basis lets Dalio know about his mistakes and goof ups. Really???? Also that she left Lehman in the good old days due to the fact that she could not tell the CEO about their messed up culture. She constantly brought up the fact that she was dating this guy within Bridgewaters and how they both and another employee lived together as roommates…..Dude…what about my interview?

In any case I wanted out before lunch and I was planning to make an exit by noon. High hopes! After an hour and half of behavioral group interview (hadn’t i just filled out an assessments questionnaire earlier in the week?) we all proceeded for what I thought would be real technical interviews.

I was interviewing for an Investment Management position and after 9 yrs of working in the field I was asked cases that were not related to the investments area. More like what would you do if a coworker was stressing on an “issues log” item…..my response- I would wait and bring it up in the issues log meeting! I had done my homework and wanted to nail the interview, just to verify the ridiculous process for myself. It was a joke. No technical questions, the interviewer had no expression on his face, so was hard to guess if he just didnt want to be there, or if that is his normal personality.

I consider myself to be a social butterfly and a people person, but I’ll still give him the benefit of the doubt and say that I might have bored him to death.

Round 2: Interviewer walks in and first question : How do I handle criticism? Well, if I can understand the basis of it, I will admit the error of my ways, but I would like the criticism to be justified. Interviewer’s reaction: Hmmm….ok. Same string of questions for the next 20 mins. Can someone please ask me my research methodology, what do I think of the markets, where the relative value lies, any investment ideas in the field?…Please? Please?

I decided to excuse myself around 12.30 and told the HR (can I atleast state their names on this blog?) that something had come up and that I had to leave. She mentioned that I was almost done for the day and asked me to fill out some paperwork. Its almost like that boring meeting where spending a minute seems like an hour!

Even though I had decided to be professional and give the interview my best shot, I could not get myself to follow up and send thank you notes. I had had enough. I got an e-mail from the HR after a few days stating that I wasnt a cultural fit.

I recommend going in for the interview without any expectations, and giving it your best shot. It isnt the best training ground, but it will prepare you for the professional interviews elsewhere.

And also, I recommend taking the train from Penn station and the cab from Westport. Not that its cheaper than renting a car, but you will need to rest your brains back on the train after the ridiculous grind. Good Luck and have fun!

Fact of the matter is that the top 4-5 guys at Bridgewater control and manage the investment strategy and make the big bucks. Everyone else out of the 900+ bask in that glory and think they did it. All the terrible politicking in the name of “truth” where the truth is set by a couple of ‘believable’ people and everything else is nonsense. A believeable person who you might have just met once in the hallway will write a bad thing about you in your review, and you are done. Then everything you do is wrong, not according to the culture, and you are just garbage then. The ‘believables’ quite happily exercise this great power and over a period of time have come to believe that this is a god given right to them, ie to judge everyone else in 5 minutes of interaction and issue their pronouncement. A sham trial called a drill-down will follow soon, your ratings will go from ‘extraordinary’ to ‘incompetent’ in 2 months flat, and that’s that. You are not allowed to dispute anything said about you, because then you are not being “self-reflective” and that is an unpardonable sin.

The positive side is that if a ‘believable’ smiles at you, then you would do really well, even without doing any work, because all you have to do is pontificate on everyone else. The chances of that happening are 50-50, and those are odds worth taking. Who knows, you might even join the club of these ‘credible’ people, and you’re all set to a comfortable lifestyle and some decent money for not a lot of work. (Mind you, nothing ever gets done at Bridgewater, no project ever gets completed, no process is ever improved, it is just mind numbing meeting after meeting and analysis…pontificating is easy. Delivering is difficult. You will be doing the easy work, which is why I say it may be worthwhile to take the job if offered). Everyone is a psychologist analyzing everyone else.

The music will go on till the guys at the top keep making money, and they are good at that. But unless you are a part of the top 4-5 people in the company, you are not going to get any more insight into investing or ideas than you might have got from your CFA.

I’m intrigued by the comments regarding how this place drains your soul. I am currently working for a Top 5 Fortune 500 company and am fairly satisfied with my job, but am going to make an honest effort to try to at least get a face-to-face interview. I am no Ivy Leaguer–more like the type who tries to get the Ivy Leaguer to do my homework in exchange for an opportunity to talk to my girlfriend’s friend.

If BW can motivate me to work, I’ll be thankful. The corporate America that I’ve experienced so far SLOWLY drains your soul and compensates you with a “satisfactory” sum. It makes you comfortable and slowly kills your dreams. At least BW tries to do it with swiftness.

To all the alleged former employees who have posted here, I am curious as to why it took you so long to quit if you had such deep reservations about the culture. I’m going to try to get in there and shut an Ivy Leaguer or two up. Just in my nature, I guess. Maybe I’ll fit in.

Thanks

1. If people are pushed into insubordination how are managers supposed to do their job? I’d imagine being a manager at this kind of place would be extra tough

2. What is the salary for summer interns (please give a numerical range, not just “enough” or “it’s decent”)

3. Are the skills you learn there actually applicable to other settings?

Great job summarizing your experience there. Do they not pay for your interview trip there ?
That’s incredible if it’s true.
It is also quite shocking that they did not offer you food or water there for an entire day.

I interviewed recently for an experienced hire position. For context, my background is ivy-league (Columbia, Harvard) and 10+ years of Wall St experience at top firms. I also worked 3 years at a startup. My background ranges from tech (early in my career) to client advisory (most recently).

A headhunter referred me to Bridgewater based on my strong achievements as a technologist. My first interview was a phone interview, digging into my technical background for a management role in their tech group.

I could tell that they were looking for someone who had a defined, formal process for managing projects vs someone who does what it takes to get the project done even if that caused their process to vary.

I’m in the latter camp, and have had huge successes in my career due to my flexibility and intuitiveness in managing. Nevertheless, the interviewer concluded that while he felt I was a cultural fit I wasn’t a fit for that position. Despite that, I was excited about a company that strived to find a position for me that I would be passionate about, and at a potentially high compensation.

Fast forward a month later, and I get a call from Bridgewater asking me to do a phone interview for a role in client services. The person who interviewed me clearly was ready to go on vacation. He even said that his goal was to be on vacation as much as possible soon.

The interview wasn’t recorded, but I could hear him typing as I answered the questions (I’m assuming, summarizing my responses). And once I answered, all I got in response was primarily “Uh huh” and “ok”. He clearly wasn’t engaged in the interview, and sounded as if he had one foot out of the door himself. This wasn’t a junior person either. I won’t out him, but you see his name quoted in the media.

No feedback after that interview. Plus, it said a lot to me that an interviewer would make it that obvious that he didn’t want to be there.

Fast forward another month, and Bridgewater wants me to travel to CT for in-office interviews. They called giving me only two days’ notice.

Last interview excluded, I still had a favorable impression of Bridgewater. Plus, the day was pitched to me as one where I would speak to a range of groups to find a best fit. So I moved client meetings in my advisory practice, and cleared a day to travel there by train. Not easy timewise, and almost $100 out of my pocket.

I also took the online team assessment and personality assessment. Both indicated that I was creative and strong on execution. So it was my impression that given this information as well as information in past interviews and combined with the intelligence of the people in the organization, my day in CT would be productive.

Boy was I wrong.

My first impression of their office was not a good one. Their website makes the office appear bright and fresh. It was dark, deep in the woods, and felt stale and 1970’s with wood everywhere. The cafeteria was even worse–cramped and school-cafeteria like. This is where I would theoretically be spending most of my day.

And it appeared odd and contrary to not only their image on the website, but also their image as the world’s biggest and most successful hedge fund.

In my first interview, the guy sits down and immediately says that since I switched from tech to client advisory and briefly from Wall St to a startup that based on my background, I appear bipolar. He used the word bipolar.

Next, this and every interview proceeded as follows:
“Tell me your methodology for doing X”
(I give my methodology)
“Why”
(I explain why)
“So based on your response, would it be fair to assume that you’re Y kind of person?”
(No, because this is just one day and one situation)
“No, I think I’m right based on this information.”

And the rest of the interview would involve either my refuting their observation if I felt it was incorrect, or (if correct) their determining if I could change. Because how could I be successful as as a manager if I didn’t fit their opinion of how a manager should think.

I also received a case study, and was given four questions to pick from for a debate. The case study was a great overview of how the company was structured, but was being piloted and was awkwardly structured for just an hour interview with someone new to the organization.

The debate was a joke. Imagine sitting in a coffeehouse in college having a debate over a philosophical issue. I poked more holes in the interviewees’ logic than they did in mine. I can see how it could be used to gauge fit, but it wasn’t organized and seemed like another case of just refuting whether someone’s opinion was right. Great for after work, but during work there are more effective ways to solve problems.

What blew my mind was that while each interview was for a different group, it was for the same type of management position. Each interviewer felt that I didn’t have the structured thinking that they were looking for although I was very strong in execution and creative. However, wouldn’t this have been evident from the first interview, as well as the online assessments?

I wondered if I could file an issue log for their wasting my day when it obviously could have been avoided based on prior information.

I also wanted to note that I was there the whole day, starting at 9 am. I was never offered water nor food. Also, if I tried to be humorous I was met with blank stares. No one said hi when you walked past even though it was clear by my badge that I was a guest. And I didn’t talk to any women managers, and saw one minority the whole day (besides Asian).

In the last session, the interviewer tried once again to get inside of my head to understand why I don’t think a certain way which they felt made for a successful manager in their organization. After all, they are the biggest hedge fund in the world.

However, most of their assets under management were apparently gathered before their organization grew to this size, and before these guidelines for a successful manager were put into place.

So it was absolutely absurd to me that they would ding me for something they don’t have strong evidence on. As a matter of fact, their assets under management fell big time recently.

After all of this, they still want to consider me for a different type of senior position! Which means potentially another day from my practice and a $100 train trip!

The last interviewer said that they are willing to lose a great candidate instead of making a bad hiring decision. I can respect that, but I was clearly left with the impression that the “person” was less important than the process.

And to comment on the role–a prior poster got it right. Unless you are the CIO or a higher-up in Research, you appear to have no or very little exposure to the investment ideas that made Bridgewater successful.

One of the interviewers even told me this explicitly, as this potentially prevents intellectual property being stolen when someone leaves. Yes, he said “when” not “if”. And in a post-Madoff world (not to imply anything) but wouldn’t you want to know exactly how things work and if they truly are working?

My overall impression is this. Bridgewater became successful on the shoulders of bright, nimble people. However, I’d say in the last couple of years, they grew very quickly while coincidentally losing assets under management.

The growth was unnecessary, and likely driven by hubris by a higher up. Buffet doesn’t have a large organization, but Buffet isn’t arrogant.

So today there appears to me to be panic and pressure from above to fix the money issue, and bright yet often inexperienced people below believing that they know what’s best to fix the problem. And if you don’t agree with what is declared to be best, you’re not in the “covenant”.

It helps that many of their workers never worked anywhere else, because anyone who has will quickly see that this organization today seems inefficient compared to others and inflexible (although I’m certain they believe the contrary).

Also, the power to be innovative not only appears to be relegated to the hands of a select few, but is psychologically battered out of you on a daily basis. They say that this process of getting to the root of why you think a certain way works–but if it works, why did their assets decrease so dramatically and why is there turnover?

I can’t imagine creating a proof of concept and presenting it in its early stages without it being picked apart (despite it being early stage). Positive feedback appears very rare, and it’s your job to pick apart. In fact, you are rewarded for it.

Ask yourself if you’re willing to work in an organization with high turnover and pressure to think and act in a certain way.

Or better still–ask yourself if you were in a gang that was literally kicking an honest and good person who was lying on the ground because he’s wearing a red shirt on a Tuesday (and a person who wears red shirts on Tuesday’s is established to be a bad person by the powers that be), would you join in and kick the person too or would you walk away?

I’m walking away.

I’m sure any Bridgewater employee who is reading this it thinking that I don’t “get it”. And that’s the saddest part of all.

I was genuinely excited to work there, but am thanking God that I “got it” before I lost several years of my life and had my thinking altered such that I’d have a tough time succeeding anywhere else.

(Sound of me running away as Twilight Zone music is fading away in the background)

1. If people are pushed into insubordination how are managers supposed to do their job? I’d imagine being a manager at this kind of place would be extra tough

2. What is the salary for summer interns (please give a numerical range, not just “enough” or “it’s decent”)

3. Are the skills you learn there actually applicable to other settings?

BW is an amazing place. The most amazing fact is that it still continues to operate at all. One can only wonder how far BW would go if it was run by socially and psychologically responsible and mature people. The company obviously has an above average computer model for analyzing the market (though it showed anything but Alpha-like testosterone in this latest market run-up), The company culture, however, appears to be a throw-back to fifties style machoism. The company philosophy is social darwinism on the corporate level. This places the company in the “Backwater” of modern corporate management principles. So if you choose to apply to BW, beware that you may not be working in a cutting-edge corporate environment.

BW seems to be a place well-suited for brilliant social midgets whose version of “logical” analysis is contaminated by the most base of human instincts — the raw acquisition of power. One succeeds at BW by exploiting others’ vulnerabilities and weaknesses (which ironically may be considered great strengths in any other context). At BW, I sense that honesty is rewarded only if it is provided in the context of hyper-critical analysis. In that sense “honesty” is really not all that “honest.” It’s more hyperbole than truth. Honest “praise” does not appear to be a company value. The test of one’s mettle at BW appears to be premised upon one’s willingness to re-create and define oneself as an emotional bully who uses naked power to grasp and crawl to a higher position on the ladder.

If you are familiar with “spiral dynamics” you will see rather clearly that BW operates at the “red” level of human consciousness. For the uninformed, that means BW operates like a gang. They beat you into the gang. They beat you out of the gang. One person — the gang leader — is in charge, and you fall in line with his way of thinking or you get gang-banged psychologically. Gang culture has apparently emerged from the real life street to Wall Street. Those who fit in at BW no doubt have high quantitative IQs, but one has to wonder whether they have substantial emotional IQs. How else would one adapt to this environment? If you want to maintain your position in the gang, you suck-up to the gang code and become a lackey gangstuh. You lose your identity (if you ever had one) and dedicate yourself to drive-by psychological ambushing. It sounds like the indoctrination (brainwash) period takes about 18 months. Perhaps if you were raised in an abusive household you will feel at home in this kind of corporate environment, and it won’t even take 18 months of psychological reprogramming.

In my business, I have run into BW-type “model prisoners.” That’s what they are — they are imprisoned by their lack of imagination, lack of creativity, and lack of empathy. Is it any wonder that the blog-posts suggest this company spends a great deal of time identifying problems but rarely succeeds in solving them? The attrition rate is due to the fact that the company appears to be operating at a middle-school level of maturity. Most people who have grown up and attended ivy league schools and done well in their lives have done so because they have the capacity not only for intellectual growth but also emotional growth. Part of human emotional development is learning to establish boundaries between ourselves and those with whom we interact. This means giving the “other” space, dignity and freedom to individuate, with due respect for their privacy. What has been described at BW is a business model which seeks to reverse the engines of human social development and simply encourage the base human instinct of grasping for “power”. That’s what gangs are all about. And by the way, neither gangs nor gang-cults will permit their followers to enjoy any sense of safety or privacy. Thus, everything you do wrong will become the knowledge of the entire gang, even moments of extreme human emotional vulnerability. These “teaching moments” keep the gang-bangers in line. The leader pays the gang well, and gets them to do whatever he wills — even to the point of carrying around a little book of virtues from which they recite principles with religious enthusiasm. In theory and principle, the practice is not too different from Maoist thugs who had the same appetite for brute force and power — and who in a few years period of time destroyed a thousand years of creativity and human achievement by their blind obedience to the little red book principles of the “chairman.”

Poor Mr. D — with all of his money, he has achieved little more than gang-leader status over a group of social misfits who remain under his spell because he pays them so well. If he had any guts he would cut everyone’s salary by half and then see how much loyalty he has earned among his gang-chippies.

One has to ask these young guns at BW — at the end of your life as you ask yourself what you have given to the world, what the hell are you going to say? That you killed other people’s dreams? That you got drunk at a company party with the boss? That you had free lunches for twenty-five years?

I mean really . . .what in the hell have you contributed? I’ve read Chairman Ray’s “business philosophy.” BW is about “excellence.” That’s fine, but “excellence” toward what end my friend? You will be able to brag that you stayed in the gang. That’s about it. You didn’t leave the world a better place. Your tombstone epitaph will read, “He was a small time unimaginative corporate gangster who contributed little to the world at large but amassed a tidy little fortune for himself.”

For the suspicious, I am not nor have I ever been a BW employee. I would never consider working at a company like BW unless I wanted to return to a time in my life when I acted like a bloody son of a bitch. A man outgrows those once he figures out he really isn’t twelve feet tall and bullet-proof. I am several years older than Chairman Ray and more than twice the age of the average BW employee. I am very successful financially, but more importantly, I am happy emotionally and spiritually. I suspect that’s where BW ultimately fails. It may have a heartbeat, but it has no soul.

I wish to warn those of you who are beguiled by the money and power. Beware. Life is short. Life is in reality what happens while you are trying to earn enough money and gain enough income to have a life. If you have missed, it, you will not have time to find it. Take care of your soul. Protect it like you would a newborn child. In the end, you will discover, as I did, that this is all that really matters. To hell with company parties and bonuses.

Thanks

would they consider a 2nd chance there or its like – we found you short of what we want and you could never become what we want ??
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would rthey