A good company will ruin your career

Fortunately or unfortunately, we live in a world where brands matter.

Hi guys,

Hope you are well. I’m doing okay, Alhamdulillah.

The past 6 weeks or so have been a rollercoaster. They involved many late nights and early mornings at work, a few sick days, multiple trips, family reunions, cold weather, and very little free time. As we wrap up the year, I’m glad to return to some semblance of normalcy and take things as easy as I can.

I had some friends over yesterday, and it was a reminder that I have a long list of people I love and respect, and upon whom I can lean for support. In all, there are many reasons to be grateful. Alhamdulillah.

————

I recently found out that a friend of mine was switching jobs.

In all honesty, I was surprised, because not only did he work for a very good company, but it was one with a reputation for paying top-of-market salaries and a very ‘take things easy’ culture. So who could he possibly be leaving them for?

Upon hearing the name of his new employer, I totally understood. Whether they could match his old salary or not did not matter. 😅

Why was I so happy for him and convinced that he had made the right decision in spite of so little information?

Fortunately or unfortunately, we live in a world where brands matter. Some institutions, by a combination of actual merit, PR, and pretense, have managed to signal to the world that they have the ability to attract the best of the best.

Even if this was untrue, their signalling does achieve the desired results.

• Thousands of students in India, Malaysia, and China are convinced that studying in the Engineering program at MIT will change their lives (even though the syllabus is similar to Engineering programs everywhere).

• Hundreds of recruiters are convinced that an Economics graduate from Princeton is more knowledgeable or talented than the same graduate from the University of Alabama.

• Thousands of investors are convinced that the startup venture of a dropout from Kennesaw State University is destined for failure, while that from a Stanford dropout is God’s gift to the earth.

• Thousands of Accountants are convinced that the training at Deloitte is truly transformative (even though they can get the same ACCA from anywhere else).

If you thought brands did not matter, then ask yourself why over 18,000 people on LinkedIn have “Ex-Google” on their profile headers, and over 7,500 have “Ex-McKinsey”. And nobody has “Ex-Hameed & Co”, even though Hameed & Co is also a great place to work! 😄

For young people struggling to get ahead, I am always in support of affiliating with ‘great’ institutions, whether they be for school, work, or whatever else, except in cases where there is some other overriding benefit in the ‘good’ institution.

Because while the educational content or professional training might be the exact same, the career benefits gained over a long period of time from a ‘great’ institution are incomparable to those from a ‘good’ institution.

Let’s imagine for a second that the year was 2009 and you were an MBA graduate at Yale School of Management. As you wrapped up your studies, you got two amazing job offers in the Product Management divisions of LG and Apple.

At first glance, both companies were very similar. Both were Fortune 500 companies, LG with a 2009 revenue of $52 billion while Apple had revenues of $42 billion. Both were very innovative companies focused on consumer electronics, with LG making phones, computers, TVs, microwaves, etc, while Apple produced computers, iPods, iPhones, computers, headphones, etc. So two very similar companies at the surface.

But if we were to fast-forward to today and you had to choose between having climbed the ranks to become a Vice President at LG or a Vice President at Apple in 2022, then we all know what you would choose :)

Why?

Between 2009 and now, LG made a lot of progress in its product line - they developed smarter house speakers, better dishwashers, more innovative air conditioners, and best-in-class washing machines. And a few of their products (e.g. LG phones) have failed and left the market.

Correspondingly, their annual revenues have increased by 29% to $67 billion in 2021.

Between 2009 and now, Apple has made a lot of progress as well - their iPhones have stronger batteries and better cameras, and their MacBooks are more advanced (e.g. MacBook Air, Pro, etc). And a few of their products (e.g. iPods) have failed and left the market.

But in addition to these, Apple’s knack for creating truly transformative products prevailed, and this has led to iPads, Apple Watches, Apple TVs, and AirPods, all of which did not exist in 2009! Correspondingly, Apple’s annual revenues in 2021 totalled at $378 billion, an 800% increase!

It’s an Apple world, we’re just living in it! - Image from CNBC

What am I trying to say?

Over a sufficiently long period of time, the difference between a ‘great’ institution and a ‘good’ institution is significant, and the benefits (financial, reputational, and otherwise) from affiliating with an A-star brand are incomparable.

Caveats.

1. The criteria for the definition of ‘great’ and ‘good’ can vary. Using a metric like annual revenues is not necessarily the best idea, and will negatively affect the consideration for private companies that do not publish such information.

2. It is many times better to choose ‘great’ people over ‘great’ institutions. For example, there are certain people I will leave whatever path I am on to follow because of the trust I have in their ability to make a positive impact.

3. When there is a significant financial difference in the choice (e.g. LG offering x2 of Apple salary or Kennesaw State offering full scholarship vs having to take loans for Princeton), then take the money o! You be employee las las, no be your Papa get Apple! 😂

** Jara content:

“The scholars state that it is not a condition that the person who enjoins good and forbids wrong be perfect in his state, such that he complies with what he commands others to do and refrains from what he forbids them. Rather, he should enjoin good and forbid wrong even if he does not practice what he preaches.”

- A Treasury of Hadith, Ibn Daqiq al-'Id

Have a great week. ✨