Ed Delgado

Hired...And Fired...In 30 Days Organized chaos is the probably the best way to describe this company. Last minute deadlines...approvals...creative direction...messaging...constantly change at the last minute. It's not uncommon for the CEO to approve a project concept and then completely change direction upon seeing the finished product. If you don't like how something works, don't worry! The process will probably change in a couple of weeks. The CEO approved -- and completely changed -- messaging and creative for one event no less than three times in one month. Each time required a complete redesign of the entire marketing campaign. In the meantime, I was publicly blamed in a senior management meeting -- at the start of my third week -- for lack of attendance at the event, which had been planned and promoted for eight months prior to my joining the company. Yeah...good times!!! A severe lack of staffing makes for many tight deadlines and late nights. Constant changes in direction by the CEO further disrupt the process as his edits take priority over everything else. He must also review every piece of literature -- large or small -- before distribution. No one's input is trusted. If the CEO is out of the office, or otherwise unavailable, this can lead to log jams of required approvals and delays in distribution. I was promised a team of employees. I was guaranteed -- multiple times -- that I would have the resources to be successful. One week after starting, the promised number of team members was cut in half. Two weeks after starting, I was completely underwater trying to do the work of the employees I had been promised. Three weeks into the job, HR was unable to find a qualified candidate for the position I had posted. After being treated like a proverbial rock star for the first two weeks the CEO abruptly stopped speaking to me. Other senior executives began making remarks about my lack of productivity. In my third week, work began getting assigned to other people without my knowledge. In my fourth week -- before I could even put the team I had been promised in place -- I was told that I wasn't "cut out" to work for The Five Star Institute. Interesting considering that I have successfully worked for a leading global airline, a Fortune 500 medical firm and numerous other national brands. I more than doubled the size of my last employer in the first six months. Prior employee reviews are so negative that management proactively addresses them during interviews. I was told they were written by disgruntled employees who had been hired too quickly. Several reviews mention employees being hired / fired within 30 days. I can tell you from personal experience that these are 100% true. You are hired and promised the moon in terms of resources and support; but the minute that you can't perform miracles you are fired. I interviewed with multiple members of the executive team for nearly three weeks. I was told the company never had anyone with my level of experience and how happy they were to have me join the team. I negotiated a six-figure salary and was promised the freedom and resources to build a first-class marketing department. They even told me that the position could turn into a CMO role in the future. They said all the right things and I bought it all "hook, line and sinker." I withdrew from four other interviews to take the job. This organization has no interest in changing the way it operates. In the end, it was 30 days of empty promises highlighted by organized chaos. It's my recommendation that you run far away from this company. As fast as you can.