Yes, the way Bob promoted SureFISH around the organization was a dishonest, inaccurate, and overly exaggerated stunt. For this alone he should be fired! When you combine his ignorance with regard to commercial operations and his rude narcissistic personality disorder it would seem a no brainer for Dako to fire him immediately. FISH has been a disaster and Bob has no leadership qualities to keep him around. He is a walking liability and very surprised he survived this long at Agilent.

His head should roll, for blowing all that smoke around FISH probes. I would also take a close look to those who believed that somehow that could save or even buttress DAKO's heamorrhaging business. My bet is that they, being the clever Agilenters they are, let Bob screw it up which will make it pretty easy to get rid of him.

If you are a manager, contact a management support consultant. They seem to have a formal complaint process.. If you are an individual contributor, tell your boss to make the complaint through MSCs. HR business partner has not been helpful and I wouldn't trust EW.

Could someone please offer me some advice on how I can open this discussion with HR without getting in trouble?

Start it as you are leaving through the door, dumb ass!

I'm currenly debating whether I should go to Agilent's HR department to complain about Bob. Could someone please offer me some advice on how I can open this discussion with HR without getting in trouble?

"While Bob is 100% the source of the problem, the real complaint should now be with (the lack) of HR and senior management in general. There have been multiple complaints to HR. Narcissism is not a crime, but it does turn customers away as evidenced below. Creating a hostile work environment is a crime. There seems to be mounting reports of a hostile work environment. Agilent is extremely risk-averse in business and employee relations. If you have the fortitude or bad luck to still be working in genomics, you should place your complaints with HR formally now. You may earn yourself a nice severance package to avoid a class action on the hostile work environment created by BS."

Excellent post and very helpful. Unlike others who have replied to this thread I have not discussed my concerns with Bob to our HR department. I've been afraid that the HR team will tell Bob and it would get me fired. I'm a mother and cannot afford to lose my job as a consequence of complaining to HR. To be perfectly honest, Bob scares me and I don't know what to do. Each day I pray that change will come but the working environment has only gotten worse. Is there a politically appropriate way to approach HR? Any recommendations on how I can initiate this discussion with HR without being black balled by Bob? Help needed.

While Bob is 100% the source of the problem, the real complaint should now be with (the lack) of HR and senior management in general. There have been multiple complaints to HR. Narcissism is not a crime, but it does turn customers away as evidenced below. Creating a hostile work environment is a crime. There seems to be mounting reports of a hostile work environment. Agilent is extremely risk-averse in business and employee relations. If you have the fortitude or bad luck to still be working in genomics, you should place your complaints with HR formally now. You may earn yourself a nice severance package to avoid a class action on the hostile work environment created by BS.

Every day when I see Bob my desire is to slap him in the face. I hate him!

Yes, Bob is an evil and selfish person who is completely self absorbed. A true narcissist!

I went to Bob and confronted him on his inappropriate behavior. He just laughed it off and said people are just being too critical. He doesn't listen.

well he seems not to hold a grudge. Others in that situtaion have been rounded up by HR and rired for "innapropriate behavior" and "coroporate sabotage" thus never work again.

Ever read Mutiny on the Bounty?

I went to Bob and confronted him on his inappropriate behavior. He just laughed it off and said people are just being too critical. He doesn't listen.

I've also complained to HR about Bob and nothing happened. Very frustrating.

"Why not stop all the complaining and go to HR en-masse and tell them the truth?"

This is exactly what I've done and so have others within the organization. Our HR department have had conversations with Bob on numerous occasions over the last year but nothing has changed in his behavior. This is likely the reason soo many people are venting their frustration on this website. We all feel helpless and don't want to leave Agilent just because Bob is a narcissistic lunatic. Hopefully Dako's leadership will prevail and I have expressed my concerns about Bob directly to them as well.

Why not stop all the complaining and go to HR en-masse and tell them the truth?

Unfortunately, Bob is suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. 

The symptoms of NPD can be similar to the traits of individuals with strong self-esteem and confidence; differentiation occurs when the underlying psychological structures of these traits are considered pathological. 

Narcissists have such an elevated sense of self-worth that they value themselves as inherently better than others. Yet, they have a fragile self-esteem and cannot handle criticism, and will often try to compensate for this inner fragility by belittling or disparaging others in an attempt to validate their own self-worth. It is this sadistic tendency that is characteristic of narcissism as opposed to other psychological conditions affecting level of self-worth.

Symptoms of this disorder include:
~ Reacting to criticism with anger, shame, or humiliation.
~ Taking advantage of others to reach their own goals.
~ Exaggerating their own importance, achievements, and talents.
~ Imagining unrealistic fantasies of success, power, and intelligence.
~ Requiring constant attention and positive reinforcement from others.
~ Becoming jealous easily.
~ Lacking empathy and disregarding the feelings of others.
~ Being obsessed with oneself.
~ Pursuing mainly selfish goals.
~ Trouble keeping healthy relationships.
~ Setting goals that are unrealistic.

More details on this mental illness can be found here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

They should post Bob's picture as a perfect example of a narcissist.

"There is no point trying to defend yourself or your ideas when a psychopath is running the show."

Yes, a psychopath is a perfect way to describe Bob. He is a narcissist and by far the worst person I've ever encountered. I often feel like I'm on a hidden camera reality show since the stuff he says is completely inappropriate, rude, and condescending. I'm praying that the Dako management gets rid of him.

One of Bob's more unsettling tactics is to target people he doesn't like or thinks are unworthy. Instead of managing people for better performance or firing them, he will use them as a public whipping post. He will make derisive comments and disagree with everything the persona non grata says. If one of the synchophants says the same thing as the Target, Bob will agree with the yes-person and ask why the Target hasn't contributed anything useful. Bob has done this to a number of people and it is so obvious that most of the Targets just give up speaking. There is no point trying to defend yourself or your ideas when a psychopath is running the show.

This is a highly accurate thread and wish I would have seen this earlier to reply sooner. Bob is a complete jackass and emotionally unstable. He is the biggest jerk I've ever worked with and he is simply an asshole. Bob is an idiot and he lies, exaggerates, and insults everyone in the office except those bimbos who agree with every word he utters. We all walk on eggshells when around Bob and all meetings involving him are high drama. He is sucking all the oxygen out of the organization and should have been fired 6 months ago. Bob is a douchebag and he needs to increase the dosage on his medication. He is completely inappropriate at work with comments on the size of my breasts, the clothes I wear, and saying I need to get on a diet. I hate working with him and wish I could slap him across the face!

Yes, it is shocking that someone this horribly incompetent, ignorant, rude, and arrogant has survived at Agilent for this long. It is demoralizing being a part of the Genomics team where we scratch our heads in disbelief every time we see Bob overreact or insult one of our own coworkers. It is very frustrating working in this dysfunctional environment and each day I pray that someone will eventually escort Bob out the door.

Can someone please explain why Bob is still employed at Agilent?

This post caught my attention since I've done business with Dako previously and also use to be an Agilent customer. Speaking from a customer's perspective I can assure you the management in the Agilent Genomics division has become very poor over the last few years. I was a loyal Agilent aCGH customer for 4 years and decided to switch to a different platform simply because the marketing team was no longer listening to my needs at the needs of the Cytogenetics community. I've met B.S and he visited my lab. He would do much better selling used cars than working in Genomics. Let's just say his personality was a real turn off. I know some of the Dako team and think they are more knowledgeable. It would probably be better for Agilent if they managed the Genomics products.

Excellent posts, all this feedback regarding B.S. it is completely accurate! I personally have nothing against Bob but agree with all of these comments and I can assure you that everyone within the organization feels the same way.  He is a disaster and it is unfortunate Agilent has to suffer as a consequence.  I've spent 20 years in the biotech industry and over 5 years at Agilent. He is the worst leader I've met and I feel sorry for the people reporting to him.

By now, it is well known by employees, customers, and even competitors that Bob is a horrific people and technology manager. He egomania clouds his decision making process to the point that customer and product decisions are borderline unethical. B.S. describes meetings as, "An exchange of ideas: everyone went in with their own ideas and left with mine".

The question is: why does Agilent tolerate it? Employees have complained numerous times. Roelofs came out of the gate strongly in suppport of B.S. and went on about how he "found" Bob and personally recruited him. Salem tolerated him for too long. Now that B.S. has been promoted above Salem and even Roelofs, they missed their chance to take action.

The quickest and easiest win for Lars would be to pay off whatever is due on B.S's employment contract. This could set a record for largest increase in management scores.

" If you have a problem with BS go and make it clear to his face. Better yet, why don't you do it when he holds his coffee talk in about a month when the whole team is present so we can see who you are."

Good idea Bob, let's have an open discussion at your coffee talk next month.

Can we please place the following topics on the agenda...

1.  Why has SureFISH failed in the marketplace and why have we significantly underachieved with respect to our revenue projections for this product?   You were walking around the organization claiming SureFISH would reach $100 million in revenue and be the largest grossing product in the genomics portfolio for Agilent.  We are barely at $1 million so please let us know your brilliant strategy for reaching $100 million and the timeline for doing so.

2.  Why have we been losing many array CGH accounts to the competition?  The Mayo Clinic was one of our biggest Cytogenetics accounts and now they are moving to another platform.   We've lost a large number of aCGH accounts over the last year and current customers are complaining our SNP performance is poor relative to the competition.  What is your grand plan to avoid further revenue declines in our aCGH business?

3.  Why have you been short changing and denying growth in our SureSelect business?   You seem to be on a mission to justify the acquisition of HaloPlex and as a consequence we've lost a big account in the Broad Institute.  The Broad wanted SureSelect and you pushed HaloPlex.  You have given the impression that we are no longer investing and supporting the SureSelect business.  You should give customers what they want versus what you think they need.  Your arrogance and selfish behavior has cost us dearly.

4.  Why do you constantly talk about yourself, especially in front of customers?

5.  Why do you make fun of employees and embarrass them in front of others?

If you can please cover these five topics during your next coffee talk it would be greatly appreciated.  We are all looking for answers.

Yes, i agree this is disgusting and vicious. Some real heartless bastards on here. i work with her and i think she's a real nice smart lady. I smile at her everyday...

As a current Agilent Genomics team member I find these postings discouraging, demoralizing and tasteless. As a decent person I find the way you have chose to vent your displeasure to be gutless and cowardly. If you have a problem with BS go and make it clear to his face. Better yet, why don't you do it when he holds his coffee talk in about a month when the whole team is present so we can see who you are. Also, the way certain females were called out, especially by name, is disgusting. I'm sure you mother would be proud of you.

It sounds like the genomics division of Agilent is a dysfunctional mess.   Have these issues been escalated to senior management within Agilent?  Who does Bob report to these days?  Is DAKO management stepping in to correct these problems?   The shareholders deserve answers and these serious issues must get sorted out immediately.

My family has suffered as a consequence of the poor leadership with Bob and his marketing team. I'm relying upon commission and have difficult revenue targets to achieve. I lost two large accounts because of the incompetent marketing team! These idiots internally are not only affecting me but also my entire family.

Yes, Bob has made many costly mistakes! He is mentally unstable and not very bright.

"Comapnies don't do their due dilligence, they just look at the history Chiron, Accumetrics, Genentech...truly he must be amazing right?...oh so wrong. The industry is rife with incompetents like him, its not his fault, its the fault of those who don't do their own due diligence"

Yes, great point!! It is just shocking that such a horribly incompetent person is put in a position of leadership. Many of us at Agilent are left scratching our heads trying to figure out why such a mentally unstable person like Bob is left with any authority. I don't understand. He is horrible!!!

Comapnies don't do their due dilligence, they just look at the history Chiron, Accumetrics, Genentech...truly he must be amazing right?...oh so wrong. The industry is rife with incompetents like him, its not his fault, its the fault of those who don't do their own due dilligence

How has Bob been able to survive this long? It sounds like he has a history of incompetence.

Per the acquirers, it was clear that he had to to fast. Popping back up at Agilent, had many shaking their heads in disbelief (he saw it coming)

"Didn't Agilent note that Bob was one of the first people fired from his last job, after the acquisition?"

Please provide additional details. Bob was fired from his last job after an acquisition?

Didn't AGilent note that Bob was one of the first people fired from his last job, after the acquisition?

Wow! There is an incredible amount of turnover in this company's staff over the past two-three years. Change agents do bring change, but they never guarantee improvement!! They talk about it quite a bit, but Alas! no improvement...except in regards to their bulky paychecks and exorbitant expenses. Basic advice to any Board of Directors, especially regarding these morons, "Let the buyer beware!".

You did not mention the overt ass kissing gay waiter that hovers around them. A symphony of douche bags not seen in public since the French Revolution. At least the French had the good sense to deploy the guillotine when even their level of tolerance for disgusting behavior was exceeded.

If you are awaiting competent change from Dako Corporate leadership regarding this matter, then,..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................you will be waiting a longggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg time. However, if you wish to get totally wasted and laugh about the trials and tribulations of those that report to you, welcome aboard and have another drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honey Boo Boo and the Boston Lunatic can always be found at the bar!!!!

Come on...this is someone's mother, friend, daughter, etc. If you cannot show compassion for her personally, at least have the dignity to not to demonize her for the sake of chivalry.

Yes, this appears to be the unfortunate consequence of poor management where employees feel helpless and are desperate for change. It sounds like a sad situation with a great deal of frustration. The Dako leadership should be able to make the necessary organizational changes. Hang in there, people internally are aware of these isssues.

Sounds like bd bioscience .
Poor management breeding more poor management.

I'm not an Agilent employee but a prior customer who has witnessed the steady decline in customer support and sales acumen which led me to switch to another technology which I will respectfully not disclose. Five years ago the marketing team at Agilent was very knowledgeable but the team in place now is pretty pathetic. You can sugar coat this situation all you like but I can assure you there are other colleagues of mine which feel the same and have discontinued being Agilent customers as a consequence.

Alex, I don't think you fully understand the problems we're facing with the genomics marketing team. I'm in sales and see it from the outside as do our customers. I've expressed my conerns to management and nothing changed. I've lost two customers recently because they were unimpressed with our product managers and lack of vision for the clinical business. The marketing team is incompetent and don't know where else to turn.

Bob needs to get fired and DAKO is the only hope.

Among those of us in the field, we call the genomics marketing team "Bob's Bimbos" which is very appropriate. All of them are idiots!

Isn't Bob the person who is ultimately responsible for Agilent's Genomics division?!?

Why did he put such incompetent people in charge? The entire marketing team is pathetic!

The first thing Dako should do is fire the entire marketing team!!!

I've been a long time customer of Agilent's aCGH platform but recently switched to another array technology partially because the lack of marketing leadership and poor sales support. I sat down with Heidi at a recent conference and was highly disappointed by her lack of basic knowledge. I'm not sure if the Dako marketing team is any better but can't imagine anyone worse.

"Are you referring to Heidi? If so, I agree!"

Yes, I believe that is her name. She reminded me of a dirty bartender and not smart nor professional.

Who hired her and put her in this position to represent Agilent? Bad move!

She is just very stupid and trampy!