Avantages
Mostly known as an industrial provider, 3M operates in various business segments, from Health Care to Consumer products. The R&D capabilities are fantastic and the company consistently invests in new products across various platforms, either directly or through M&A. Its global footprint makes it for exciting yet stable performance, as a slow-down in a market can be off-set by a growth in another. Leadership is getting much better at focusing in key growth businesses and regions vs. a highly decentralized model from year ago.
Inconvénients
It can be frustrating to find the right empowerment model in this highly "matrix" organization - the approximately 30 Divisions have a global leader but in each country report to a local Managing Director that may have different goals. Leading a team here can be a roller-coaster if the Region vs. Business politics gets in the way.