Sometime ago I had a chat with my wife it made me realise that there are cockroaches working in an oragnization.
What is a cockroach? An 8 legged insect that feeds on scavenging anything they can find. Cockroaches are found everywhere in the world, but most notably they can survive a nuclear winter.
Now, what about a cockroach in an organization?
Let's take Mr. A, he has work a company for 30 years. Throughout the 30 years, he's been a diligent worker who does what he is told do, but not very efficient or effectively. He has slowly risen through the ranks but eventually hits a ceiling at middle management where he cannot progress any further. He might have gotten lucky with a promotion if someone decided to kick the bucket earlier.
While he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, Mr. A has evaded several round of layoffs because he's a hardworking, utility worker and doesn't cost as much as the seniors. As a grunt, Mr. A lacks creativity and innovation, because he is a utility worker: not smart like a worker ant and not dumb like a lemming.
In his 30 years, Mr. A constantly takes a lot of scolding, even some very embarassing ones for his mistakes or lack of inefficiency. He absorbs them, doesn't hold any grudges and always hopes the problem goes away... which does over time and people forget. He may even succumb to taking the blame and accepting a pay cut, but he does this so he can keep his job.
Always willing to please, Mr. A gets along well and tries to remain neutral as much as possible. Once they find a comfortable place to scavenge for the rest of their lives, they will continue to do so.
So, a cockroach in an organization is a person who will do anything and everything, to keep his job, won't be very good out it, rarely thinks outside the box or creatively. They work hard i.e. scavenge to keep their job. These cockroaches can be found commonly in large and established MNCs and even small companies.
The cockroach can be anywhere aged 35 to 45, usually with a family or planning to start one. These cockroaches commonly engage in repetitive duties such as in logistic, sales and sometimes finance.
A cockroach is detrimental in a startup, because everyone in a startup needs to think and operate as independent as possible to save cost but most importantly, pivot and innovate quickly. Cockroaches are there for the ride, not being able to contribute can drag the team down. Startups need to identify these cockroaches as soon as possible to avoid wastage and them sucking up necessary resources.
Unlike the definition of a cockroach startup, this is different.
