When a company becomes bigger

Doing the right thing is more important than doing things right. The first sentence means you have your own arguments and reasons. The correct measurement is your own justice and whether you can be accountable for your actions. However, when you enter a big company, your manager cares about whether you can get things right. This is also why startup companies have more energy.

Humans are social animals by nature. If a group has fewer than 140 people, it can manage itself. Because everyone knows what others are doing, it is easy to have a common view on a person, and no one can slack off. But when a team becomes larger, fog and shadows appear. Your ability and performance are largely determined by your manager, rather than based on your true contributions.

Most companies have hundreds of employees. This is also why office politics are so prevalent in big companies. How to handle office politics is paramount. After all, it relates to your salary and promotion. If you want it that way, the best approach is to become a politician. Everyone knows what is going on, but no one points it out, just like The Emperor’s New Clothes. The risk is that you may lose yourself.

This is why an excellent startup company is so attractive. But one day, as the company grows, because of its excellence, more and more strangers join, and not everyone is friendly. If you still be yourself and don’t care about politics, it may lead to inappropriate situations, and rumors will be everywhere, and when the new year comes, you won’t get promoted for no reason.

The neutral way is to work like a robot, not sharing any emotions and feelings, which will make your colleagues feel a certain level of professionalism. The downside is that you won’t have the opportunity to be treated as a friend, but for people who have changed companies (no longer in a startup), it is easier to be accepted than in their previous company.

Translated by gpt-3.5-turbo