Overall, the article generally reeks of employees that are too lazy/complacent/comfortable to pull out the big guns and aim for what they want in a big company. Obviously if you've had your big guns out for months/years and you still feel ungratified, then yeah, probably time for a change.
There are my initial reactions to all the points.
1) Bureaucracy getting you down? Tear down/bypass useless red tape.
2) Can't find an interesting project? I'm sure there are hundreds of interesting teams nation/worldwide you haven't met yet.
3) Poor annual performance reviews? Learn the system and work it, even if you have to play kiss up every now and then to important people. It's your money in your bank, after all.
4) No discussion around career development? No lead is going to turn you away if you go into his or her office and ask for it.
5) Feeling jerked around? Stand your ground and don't be a yes-man (or woman).
6) No one holding you accountable? Call for your own brainstorming sessions and peer reviews.
7) Can't find smart people? See note above about finding an interesting project.
8) Don't understand your company's vision? Either take ownership and try to influence it if it's that important to you, or keep your head down and keep doing awesome work.
9) Encountering closed-minded imbeciles? See note above about getting jerked around.
10) Don't like your boss? See note above about finding an interesting project.
The reason why I generally dislike working at my big company (wonder if they'll see this!) simply boils down to a lack of challenge. Not intending to come off as arrogant, but if I can dedicate 20% of my brainpower and consistently get rave reviews from everyone around me, something is seriously wrong with the picture. So I generally wait until the last minute, code sprint, say "check please," and go home and do something more interesting with my life.
The reason why I generally dislike working at my big company (wonder if they'll see this!) simply boils down to a lack of challenge
To me this encapsulates the problem we're talking about. The fact that you're coasting and not challenged is exactly the problem. You sound smart and energetic, but the system has still got you down by failing to enable you to find challenges that would benefit the company. Fighting an entrenched bureaucratic culture is a lot harder than you might think (I've spent plenty of time recently doing this!).
I felt pretty jerked around at my last job, and stood my ground.
I was pretty much forced to quit 2 weeks later. Of course there were some other issues, but the point being, some people don't really like you standing your ground and would rather you be a yes-man.
the article generally reeks of employees that are too lazy/complacent/comfortable to pull out the big guns and aim for what they want in a big company
The article is about employees who leave companies. Such people are not lazy, complacent, or comfortable; quite the opposite. They don't like wasting their time playing the games you describe in order to do their jobs. If they have the opportunity to leave for greener pastures, they will. More power to them.
There are my initial reactions to all the points.
1) Bureaucracy getting you down? Tear down/bypass useless red tape.
2) Can't find an interesting project? I'm sure there are hundreds of interesting teams nation/worldwide you haven't met yet.
3) Poor annual performance reviews? Learn the system and work it, even if you have to play kiss up every now and then to important people. It's your money in your bank, after all.
4) No discussion around career development? No lead is going to turn you away if you go into his or her office and ask for it.
5) Feeling jerked around? Stand your ground and don't be a yes-man (or woman).
6) No one holding you accountable? Call for your own brainstorming sessions and peer reviews.
7) Can't find smart people? See note above about finding an interesting project.
8) Don't understand your company's vision? Either take ownership and try to influence it if it's that important to you, or keep your head down and keep doing awesome work.
9) Encountering closed-minded imbeciles? See note above about getting jerked around.
10) Don't like your boss? See note above about finding an interesting project.
The reason why I generally dislike working at my big company (wonder if they'll see this!) simply boils down to a lack of challenge. Not intending to come off as arrogant, but if I can dedicate 20% of my brainpower and consistently get rave reviews from everyone around me, something is seriously wrong with the picture. So I generally wait until the last minute, code sprint, say "check please," and go home and do something more interesting with my life.