I was at Ingersoll Rand for 6 months, and my overall takeaway is one of amazement that the sector has achieved any success at all. The level of dysfunction that permeates the organization is profound. The culture can politely be described as aggressive - not in a positive and focused manner - but rather in a form of aggression rooted in suspiscion and personal destruction. IRST, by far, is the most politicized of environments I have ever seen. Everyone seems to be locked in a trance of hubris and chest thumping of past success. All the while, the constant infighting, lack of focus/vision, and hubris has created an organization that cannot compete in the new economic landscape. Much to the denial of many employees, IRST is under significant competitive pressures, and is being outflanked by their prime competitor. The functional areas (Mrkt, IT, Comm, etc) - are not staffed with experts in these fields - but rather seem to be parking places for former sales people who need a place to go. This has created an organization that is about 15 years behind the curve on current best practices. Suspiscion runs so deep that even individuals on the same team go out of their way to sabotage each other. IRST's so called "leaders" encourage this behavior. My team director, was a fraud. He knew nothing about the areas that he managed. He could not assist in moving anything along, and his only contribution would be to spend 3 hours reformatting reports and presentations (fonts, color choices, and the like). No joke. Also, he was very good at taking other people's work and ideas and passing them off as his own. Apparently, this is what it takes to move up the ladder at IRST. I am a highly trained and accomplished professional. I was brought to IRST under some serious false pretenses (promises made by the same dubious director). From the outside looking in, IRST, and IR in general, looks like a good place to work. I wish someone in my network, or a poster on social media would have provided greater insight into the company prior to my accepting the offer. I would have never accepted the offer, or allowed it to come to the offer stage, if I had a hint that the culture was bankrupt.
