As someone who worked for Avigilon and Bryan Schmode their "entrepreneur" philosophy is what created high turnover. All Schmode did was take it to the next level and create a "strictly business" environment where you knew at any time you might be cut for lack of sales or anything else. After meeting with several of their western sales guys at ISC West this year it seems as though they have a different culture that was needed to create a stable business.
But let's be real. Although Schmode did go off on me a few times and create a crazy work environment he got the job done. Meaning, he made himself and Avigilon a lot of money. It's actually an amazing story. A guy that was a Sales Engineer at Verint just a few years before he rose to COO at Avigilon. Sometimes the guy was a magician the way he sold systems.
At first i hated on Bryan. But in the end I realized he accomplished what he wanted. Not only was he able to retire but he left his mark on the industry as the Infamous Bryan Schmode. Although I couldn't hang in the Avigilon environment I still considered Bryan a friend that I could chill with outside of work.
I guarantee that if you asked Alex Fernandes, he would hire and support Bryan again if he could. One thing I will say about Bryan is that he worked hard to accomplish what he did. Although I wouldn't want to work for him again I learned a lot from his methods and applaud him for what he accomplished. Although he did burn some bridges many people hate out of jealousy.
But hey, that's just my opinion. Like they say don't hate the player, hate the game. Although Mark Zuckerberg burrned bridges to start Facebook many think he's a genius. One man's genius is another man's misunderstanding.
NOTICE: This comment was moved from an existing discussion: Avigilon New COO James Henderson Profile