There are some companies out there that run their business on vengeance - plain and simple. These are the companies that you just do not want to do business with - or even work for. It's nice to want to "crush" the competition, or make comments about putting the other company out of business, or perhaps running them over with the "bus;" but the truth is, these comments are really just ego masturbation meant to make you look cool in front of your employees. They should never reach beyond that.

When these comments become doctrine, the said company then enters into a business of "vengeance" where "killing" the competition becomes a primary goal, rather than building a better product or better services to fit your client. Everything becomes about competition and vengeance upon those who disagree, work for a competitor, or even leave that company's employ.

A business built upon vengeance doesn't take too kindly to people leaving the company. You're leaving us. We're the greatest company in the world. You should have been happy that I let you have a job here. Fine. Go work for a paycheck somewhere else. You're just a cog in the machine. You would have only been successful here. You're nobody now. A company like this is a detriment to your health and well-being.

A company built on vengeance despises anybody that leaves, and hates the prospects of that person being successful elsewhere, because a business of vengeance is led by people who need constant justification in their actions. If you leave, they want to believe they don't need you. That you were worthless. For you to be successful somewhere else means that you could have been a valuable piece of their company. In their eyes, if you were worth anything, you'd be working for them still. They need the ego boost. If you're successful somewhere else, that hurts their ego.

Feelings such as these often lead these businesses to enact hardship upon their former employees. They do things just to make them aggravated. Things like frivolous lawsuits. Businesses of vengeance will be more than happy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on frivolous lawsuits even if they know they'll lose. They do it just to make your life harder. Sometimes it's something subtle - like purposely sitting on 401K rollover paperwork (holding your money hostage) to keep you following up with various organizations; or even finding ways to skip out on paying you earned vacation time when it's listed in your benefits.

There are many companies like this out there. I've worked for several in the past. What's important is that you learn from the experience, and learn how to better evaluate potential employers in the future. Working for a company built on vengeance will only ultimately bring hardship down on you when you try to move on or advance.