Over the course of several weeks, I went through five panel interviews: both in-person and virtual. Speaking with no less than ten individuals across six different business units. Field Services, Directors & VPs, SVPs you name it. Five hours total. That’s more than enough time to spot systemic dysfunction and a toxic work culture. What I witnessed was a textbook case of a company that’s scaled through acquisition and failed to mature. The communication gaps? Alarming. The culture? Toxic. Decision-making? Emotionally driven and politically motivated. I interacted with leaders more focused on clinging to titles and while accepting risk to the business than developing themselves or their teams to remove the risk. Even their own people know it’s a problem. Now let’s talk about the hiring process. It’s chaotic, misaligned, and flat-out amateur. Riot’s HR team borrowed Amazon’s interview playbook without understanding the underlying principles or psychology behind it. What’s left is a jumbled, unprofessional game that seems designed to confuse rather than evaluate. To make it through, I had to tone myself down. Yes, I had to dumb myself down. Just to avoid coming across as a threat. Even with my best effort I believe I still came across as a threat to C-Level Executives. As I had gained consensus from all levels below to work with them and over come these issues; all positive and forward planning feedback to hiring manager and HR. Riot isn’t looking for proven leadership. Riot is seeking for young, cheap, and inexperienced. Jason and or Benjamin; when you are ready to stop flushing revenue down the drain, begin to attract highly qualified individuals within 45 days and transform Riot into a powerhouse that customers seek RIOT out; give me a call!