It's Not Just The Music Or Radio Business

I know this may seem obvious given the current state of the economy and the mega-mergers of the last few years, but music business and radio folks are not alone in their frustrations with the current state of corporate life.

Yesterday afternoon I attended an introductory seminar at the local office of Lee Hecht Harrison, a national "career transition" firm. In my class were former employees of Sprint and AIG, among others. Amidst the bitterness and head-scratching of my fellow unemployees (is that a word? Probably not), I found an almost universal shared experience when it comes to the lack of creativity, fun and inspired leadership in their respective businesses.

"The two cultures never meshed," I heard from one classmate describing the few-years-old merger of Sprint and Nextel. 

"No red flag was raised with management when a seven person department overseas accounted for 42% of our division's revenue," another executive said of the eventual fallout that occurred when financial markets fell considerably.

Another classmate shared frustration about the revolving door of management one level above her.

Suffice it to say that the refrain sounded in the room sounded eerily familiar, which was both comforting and disconcerting.

There's no moral to this story, at least not from me, but it does make me wonder about re-entering the corporate world that has been home for pretty much all of my adult life.