YPO reviews

- Complicated matrix to learn the entire structure of the organization, internally and externally. Even after 5 years I was still meeting new people in roles I didn't know existed. The constant internal restructuring of entire departments does not help this. - Departments are very siloed, despite efforts to patch this. YPO Global, YPO Regions, YPO Networks, and YPO Chapters all operate separately with little internal communication. When communication does happen, it's overwhelming and presented in a way that's 'everything all at once.' Processes look differently for each department and this causes so much confusion across the board. - Work/life balance is not practiced by most managers, because they are overworked as well. The org has an unlimited PTO policy, but if you take more than the minimum amount you will likely be questioned. The policy is 3 weeks minimum one must take for PTO annually, but 3 weeks = 15 (working) days and not 21 days. It is difficult to take PTO in general because there is so much work to be done at all times that many would rather keep working than take PTO and have to work 2x more once back from vacation. I dreaded the days returning from a vacation and looking at my inbox and Teams. - Work stress is a REAL thing here. I witnessed several colleagues take time away or medical leave for health conditions related to stress from the work. You know it's bad when the org offers a webinar on 'balancing work and life' but you can't attend because you have too much work to do. The volume of work for hard-working employees is absurd, and causes the most passionate employees to leave due to burnout. - Workload is terrible and you will eventually find yourself doing the work of 3-5 people regularly. Things move fast in YPO, and the workload piles up quickly. The entire org is led by a Board of entrepreneurs, so you can imagine how many ideas come into play and need actioning 'ASAP.' - Working with others all over the world = timezone conflicts and lots of early morning and late evening hours for meetings. The expectation is that one needs to be available in their own time zone from 7am-7pm to take meetings, but once you add in other colleagues and members and their time zones, it can be close to impossible to find a time that works with everyone, so there are always sacrifices, and those sacrifices become the norm (*especially if you are in North America and interface regularly with someone in Australia). - TOO MANY MEETINGS. One reason the work hours are so long is because you will be in meetings for hours each day. My typical day had a minimum of 4hrs of meetings, and if you're like me, bouncing from one meeting to the next with random 30min blocks in between to work is incredibly difficult. This structure doesn't allow one to get into deep work. You will be told to block off your calendar for focus time, but then asked by someone else to open up your calendar for a meeting. It's a cycle. - Lots of big personalities to deal with in Senior Leadership, members, and spouses/partners. I was fortunate to not undergo any abusive language myself from members during my time there but this is not the case for many. I did experience this though when a male member was scolding a female spouse/partner about her credentials, education, and 'motives' for joining an event program. She is a CEO herself and very well-known within her business community, but this man's judgment of her being a spouse/partner halted his ability to be a decent human being to her. The incidents (yes, plural) were reported by me and others but nothing came of it. I ended up personally apologizing to the spouse/partner on behalf of this man. - Growth at YPO can be very limiting, depending on your department, and your manager. There aren't outlined career paths here, so if you're looking for something to work up to in one field, this won't be the place for you. - The work is ever-changing and chaotic. Everyone is doing their own thing their own way and there are not real processes in place for anything. Board members want to try something 'new' every quarter and you are expected to meet those expectations.

The organization is rudderless and literally makes decisions by committee. There is no ceo. Well, there was one until one day he got fired (effective same day). Then, a couple weeks ago they fired another 20 people, including the CFO, the head of HR, and the CFO. When I say “they,” that is as specific as I can get, because nobody took ownership of the decision or explained to staff why it was made. It was simply announced online and that was it. We are left to assume it was one of the many committees, and wonder who is next. Know that no decisions get made at YPO. A simple business decision that would typically take 10 mins can take months at YPO. Many, many layers of committee approvals, pre-reads, meetings, etc. Oftentimes, it’s not even clear who the decision maker is, and multiple committees will weigh in, ultimately paralyzing any progress. On top all this, the committees rotate every year or two, so there will be drastic pendulum swings every couple of years, with no stability whatsoever. Many of the volunteer committees make decisions about operations without understanding the organization, and this further chaos is sewn. The top positions (I.e. elected member positions) are highly political, and it always feels like people are jockeying for the next chairmanship or what have you. Overall, it’s a highly political, disorganized organization with no vision or leadership to speak of (ironic, I know).