Culture story

Culture story: Do not apply rules of first world to third world!

Before joining ZS in 2015, I had worked at three different companies. Moving to ZS felt like transitioning from a third-world to a first-world culture. Everyone was smart, helpful, and even understood my jokes. In my previous companies, if I didn't know something, I was often met with sarcastic comments like, "You've been here for two years; you should know this by now." However, at ZS, no question was considered silly, and no one mocked me. Feedback, both upward and downward, was given and received constructively to help everyone improve personally and professionally. We had bi-weekly 1:1 catch-ups with team members and managers for feedback.

After 3.5 years of a great experience, I decided to try something new and joined another pharma consulting firm. Assuming the culture would be similar, I gave both downward and upward feedback. My downward feedback was met with resistance and cold stares, while my upward feedback was ignored and put me in a negative light with the founders.

This experience taught me to observe the culture of an organization before applying rules. If the culture is like that of the third world, you cannot apply first-world rules to it! 

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Read past stories like above at https://lnkd.in/d9ijze8rC