Re: FWD: You will be assimilated...now what?

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher5 -at- cox -dot- net>]

I've been through two mergers; in both, I worked for
the little fish. In both, I lasted about a year after
the merger.

The first, back in the mid 90s, was absolutely horrible.
The whale had no idea how to sell both products. Nobody
had any idea how to corroborate coast-to-coast. First
they laid off the east coast team and prepared to move
lock, stock, and barrel out west. Then they banged a
U-ie and gave the west coast team notice. "As soon as
the product is finished, you are too!" Nice people.<not!>
They got swallowed a few years later.

The second went better and there were stock options and
retention bonuses to keep us little fish interested. But
after a year, it was clear that none of the little fish
were going to make it out of the belly of the whale.
At the end of the year, all the bonuses had been collected
and I faced the choice of changing jobs or explaining my
goals to the 3rd VP of Engineering since the merger...
Two years later, the little fish office is closed and there
are no original little fish left. The whale ain't doin' so
hot either.

What happens to you next, anon, depends largely on which
company ends up on top. Keep your eyes and ears open,
dust off your resume, and cross your fingers.

Good luck!
-Sue Gallagher

At 08:37 AM 8/30/02 -0600, Anonymous wrote: