[welearnednothng]

I was at Disney for almost a decade (possibly at the division ultimately responsible for Disney+, but I’m not positive - it’s hard to keep up with all of the changes and renaming) and this is 100% what I observed there. Over and over.

The ineptitude of the decisions that resulted from this were often hard to believe. And getting ahead was really a matter of getting in good with a new exec long enough to put you in a good position to move upwards to a different part of the company (or elsewhere).

[wedidlearn]

Unsurprisingly, building strong relationships in the workplace and having a positive attitude are ways to advance your career.

[welearnednothng]

This is sound advice that I can definitely get behind. However anecdotally it's not what I've observed to be true. In my above mentioned example, the people with the most and strongest relationships throughout the org were not the most upwardly mobile, nor was there a correlation with positive attitude.

Rather, aligning yourself with the correct (choose wisely) new executive and being a yes-person even to things that you know might have long-lasting negative impacts on the company (and thus your peers) was too often the winning strategy. Even then, it's navigating a political minefield, and one misstep could spell disaster.

The approach tends to put personal gain ahead of the well being of the company. I've seen too many people get ahead by setting vast fires and then walking away. That's not something I can get behind.