CEO & leadership culture
The CEO does not ask thoughtful questions, does not say "I don't know," and does not genuinely engage with input that challenges his existing view — feedback is solicited performatively and discarded
When faced with a perspective he doesn't want to hear, the response is to run an AI query until something validates his original position, then present that as resolution
He is more influenced by AI outputs and online thought leaders than by the experienced practitioners he employs
Experience and expertise carry no weight — the only perspective that consistently matters is his own
Executive communication is dismissive and unprofessional, regardless of an employee's seniority, performance, or contribution
You can be a high performer, back to back in meetings all day, delivering exceptional work — and still be met with coldness, impatience, and a complete absence of empathy from the top
The co-CEO role is organizational theater — it exists to soften perception, not share actual leadership responsibility
Culture & expectations
There is an always-on expectation that is never stated explicitly but enforced culturally — the work is positioned as the single most important thing, at all times.
Presenteeism is the norm; availability is treated as a proxy for value in a way that will steadily erode your ability to function as a whole person
There is no empathy in how people are managed — not when workloads are unreasonable, not when concerns are raised, not when someone is clearly burning out
Management structure
There is no real middle management — team leaders have no more authority or answers than the people they manage, and escalating to the CEO is understood internally to be pointless
Real problems have no path to resolution; they circulate until everyone is too exhausted to keep raising them
Senior strategists carry the full weight of client relationships with no organizational backing and no one empowered to actually intervene
Client impact & sales
Work is sold without honest assessment of whether the org can deliver it — execution is figured out after the contract is signed, if at all
Leadership shows little genuine interest in clients' core business challenges; the work trends toward what's interesting to build, not what solves the actual problem
Clients are sold capabilities that don't exist, delivered against timelines that were never realistic — and the strategists closest to those relationships are left to absorb the fallout alone
The distance between what is promised and what is delivered is not a growing pain. It is the business model.
Capability & resourcing
Critical gaps in analytics and deep subject matter expertise are treated as permanent fixtures rather than urgent problems
Offshore consultants substitute for internal capability rather than complementing it; AI is positioned as the reason not to invest in experienced people at all
