A comment on "How an Advice Line situation turned out," (1/21/2008), about an employee who learned he was on the chopping block, and instead left under his own steam:Bob, while your advice has once again been proven right, I think you devalue the act of whistleblowing (assuming Venting was able to meet w/HR separately from his/her boss) when you say the only upside is "emotional gratification."Taking a risk like A comment on “How an Advice Line situation turned out,” (1/21/2008), about an employee who learned he was on the chopping block, and instead left under his own steam:Bob, while your advice has once again been proven right, I think you devalue the act of whistleblowing (assuming Venting was able to meet w/HR separately from his/her boss) when you say the only upside is “emotional gratification.” Taking a risk like this, foolish as it is, pretty much cuts to the essence of acting as a free person. Whether saying the right thing to the wrong apparatchik gets you shipped to Siberia or gets you blacklisted, foreclosed, uninsured, and divorced, the act of saying it is 1) irrational (and some will opportunistically relish your irrationality) and 2) courageous. “Emotional gratification” is high-fiving after your team scores the go-ahead touchdown. Or distributing a policy memo to subordinates and pompously starting one of the paragraphs with a word like “furthermore,” just to show ’em who’s boss. Bob’s last word: I don’t recommend Don-Quixote-ism. Mathematically speaking, in an infinite universe, everything that is physically possible has to exist somewhere, which means that somewhere there must be a company where honest exit interviews result in useful corporate changes. I personally haven’t experienced one nor have I ever heard of a case of it from anyone else. Whistle-blowing isn’t something you do in an exit interview. To be done effectively requires extensive planning and documentation, the ability to deliver the message in a way that can’t be ignored, and a willingness for self-sacrifice that requires a possible result important enough to warrant the pain. I’m grateful for those, over the years, who have taken this course of action. Other than possible book deals, it is usually career death, though, which means I can’t recommend it except for extreme situations. – Bob Powered by ScribeFire. Technology Industry