The problem with XOM

I resigned three months ago and moved to a different company in a different industry.

After being exposed to a new culture and distance myself from my traumatic experience at XOM, I gained a new perspective on what is really wrong with XOM.

The problem is that there are no mechanisms to prevent implicit biases and the value system that rewards diplomacy, obedience and conformity over honestly, care and competence.

The top 15% only like, promote and sponsor those who behave like them and share the same value system.

Yes, a few "minorities" have joined the top 15% in recent years, primarily women, and a few non-white, non-american individuals, but it's just a facade.

Those individuals in such "minorities" share the same value system or are lured into adopting it (or pretending they have adopted it) with ridiculously high salaries and license to make mistakes with no accountability so they come to believe there must be something inherently meritorious beyond their color, nationality or gender that justify their acceptance in this "elite" group and the behaviors they are required to embrace to remain in such group.

There are no "checks and balances" to prevent this implicit bias. The top 15 % decide who belong to the top 15% during the performance review process and such decision is biased towards those who behave, act and look like the the top 15%.

Because such bias is invisible to those in this group, a feedback loop is created by which the decision makers select and preserve their clones. In this way the same type of individuals with the same behaviors and value system perpetuate in such elite group.

The other 85% are hiring mistakes. They are people that do not engage in those behaviors and do not share such value system because doing so would require a fundamental change of their core identity as individuals.

This dynamics is also true for other companies.

However, other companies find a way to reach the equilibrium point at 95% to 5% as opposed to the xom equilibrium of 15%-to-85%.

They accomplish this with mechanisms to avoid implicit biases that prevent decision makers from selecting and promoting their clones, and by embracing more universally shared behaviors and values such as honesty, care, compassion, candor, and competency.

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11 replies (most recent on top)

OP speaks truth. Mock as you want. 20 years, early retired, with corporate experience before EM, and now employed outside of EM.
EVERYONE is a number, just know when your number is likely to be called.

Do you use the same principle with your romantic partner?

You are dishonest to him/her to prevent him/her to become your enemy?

Good luck with that.

That was good for a laugh... sounds like a soft brand of leftism encouraging 'equity'. Corporate work was never about being honest. The nature of having many diverse people compete in close quarters makes honesty a recipe for making unnecessary enemies. This has been true since the dawn of civilization. The fact that people are not being honest is actually proof of the diversity of people in the workplace.

Rather than jumping jobs, you should have just read a history book. Spoiler alert - 'Clones' aren't being promoted at XOM, they are just people who are effectively emulating their superiors.

The layoff page of my new company doesn't have a post since 2005.

I come here to encourage the bottom 85% to leave.

After 3 months with new co, you got it all the systems figgered out, OP?
But it took 15 years to identify your specified issues with the old company?

Why do you come nostalgically to the EM Layoff page.
Start visiting your new company's Layoff page.
Tell them how good they got it there.

I'm not a troll.

Former CL 27. Resigned after 15 years. Still waiting my commencement package. Have been ranked in the VG category in 2020/21. Bottom third in 2019 (the OWD/O/E/VG/G/NI/NSI) didn't exist prior to 2020. Only an insider can know these details.

The only problem with with Exxon is that a huge number of people still work there who are way past their working prime - and knowingly so.

I can’t think of any historical example of a dynamic, growth-focused gerontocracy. Perhaps Exxon will be the first, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Troll….

Opie is right. It's better known as the good old boys club. They reluctantly let in a few "b1tches and c0loreds" because of optics, but, make no mistake about what it really is. Anyone in the club will gladly take the money and play along. Its been around for centuries in these huge companies, just like serial ranking of employees. Gonna be their downfall as the blind greed will underestimate employee and shareholder sentiment.

Very accurate assessment in my view. It's a self fulfilling culture that rewards the same behaviour, look, culture. Those in the self appointed clique are devoid of accountability or burden of proof. What I think I have also observed is a retrenchment inwards, with even more inbreeding and thus concentration of views. If your name's not down, you're not coming in. Very self destructive for an effective organisation.

Interesting theory. My common sense tells me that you are mostly correct. And, your theory fits with what I have experienced at EM as an employee.

Now, what is to be done about it? EM has all the power. Best thing to do is to take your power back; walk away hoping that the next company does not have the same problem.

Thanks for sharing!

Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

The problem with XOM

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