Audible reviews

I've never worked for such a top-down company. Decisions are made capriciously, based on very little analysis. If Don (the CEO) were to tell product to build a version of the Audible player that is optimized for a Samsung Galaxy 8 in a BWM 7-series that is driving down the New Jersey Turn Pike at 68 miles an hour to a home in Montclair, product leadership would say "OK, would you like another version for when you are going 45 miles an hour?" When I interview people for jobs, I make up progressively more ridiculous requirements to see if/when they will push back. The best candidates push back on absurd requests. Not so with the product leadership here. The company's supposed top "people principle" is to be customer obsessed. As far as leadership goes, the only customer they obsess about is Don. There are so many levels of management that it feels like people are playing "company." CXOs (except Don), SVPs and VPs all map to the same level as a director at Amazon. That's a very big role at Amazon. Why Audible needs three levels for that I can't explain. Every level wants reporting. I don't know whether Don knows this or not, but the product team probably spends more time managing spreadsheets, status reports and plans than it does building products. Even though the company is top down and doesn't allow people to make decisions, the leadership is never available for meetings. A common cycle: Hey, do X. X is done and ready for approval. First available meeting slot to review X is scheduled for three weeks later Meeting canceled at last minute. Meeting rescheduled two weeks later. Meanwhile boss is yelling about why his product isn't done, oblivious to fact that it's not done because he canceled the meeting to approve it. There has been a ton of attrition lately. I hope management is taking note of that and the plummeting ratings on glassdor. If you are creative, talented and motivated, you will have the life sucked out of you within the first quarter.

The glassdoor reviews and "ratings trends" tell the story here. Just read the reviews and you will get a sense of exactly what is happening. There is an incredible amount of turnover at all levels. I can't overstate this. Audible attracts very talented people but the unhealthy amount of chaos and dysfunction drives everyone out. Much of the chaos starts with the CEO. This is well documented so don't overlook. Some of the senior leaders who "run" the company are also responsible holding this company back. Politics are alive and well across Audible and good luck growing your career if you don't have the "right" manager. Consistently exceeding your goals has little to do with career growth at Audible. Again, beware of choosing Audible over Amazon, Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc.