Corporate culture is a sticky thing.  VMware, like many other companies, has a whole page dedicated to its culture.  But the official statements about corporate culture, such as VMware’s statement that we have a “culture of excellence”, don’t really do a lot to tell you about what the culture is really like.

One piece of the culture that I’ve noticed is that everyone just uses first names to refer to executives and senior management.  If someone refers to Paul, they’re usually referring to Paul Maritz, our CEO.  But it’s said casually, making a newbie like me wondering if there’s a Paul on my team that I just haven’t met yet.

This is quite different from Microsoft, where many people are referred to by their email address.  For example, if Steve Ballmer comes up in conversation, he’s called SteveB.  Even Bill Gates is called BillG.  It’s so ingrained in the culture that people will often sign their emails as “NadyneR”.  I know another ex-Microsoftie who’s said that she still trips up and signs her emails like that instead of just with her name.

I’m sure I’ll get used to just referring to everyone by only their first name instead of using a surname or at least an initial as a differentiator, but I’m not quite there yet.