I can only share what I personally experienced. I worked for a premier financial services company for 17 years. The latest CEO was a hack that insulated himself from the "rabble". When he started, the IT organization had four levels of management between he and the lowest worker. When I left about 11 years later, we had either seven or eight layers of management between the lowest IT worker and the CEO (it varied based on the latest org chart change). His focus was only on the Wall Street metrics and his RSOs. He did not entertain thoughts from below. If training for IT was not in vogue, it didn't matter how many CBAs you floated. Usually we didn't have the time to do this unless you wanted to take an off-weekend to do it. I even ended up paying a large chunk of money for my own training (it didn't change anything the next year).

Even prior to his tenure it was really tough to get ideas to flow upwards. It was simply part of that culture. I once made a suggestion for a new type of coordination meeting and it took over two years of mid-level management saying it was a good idea before it came to fruition.

Honestly, I got a really sour attitude from my last ten years in Big Business execs. As I said in a previous post, they couldn't care less whether they manufacture widgets, provide credit card services, or sell luxury goods. These execs would sell horse turds if it got them their compensation levels. They have no loyalty to anything else. It is best to consider your stay there only until it stops working for you -- but keep your skills marketable meanwhile.

I would rather be in an organization in which the c-levels have a passion for the goods or services they sell. Then the CBA will appeal to the upline.