If no one had a sociopath for a boss, who would start new businesses?

Bad Management
If no one had a sociopath for a boss, who would start new businesses?

"Imagine a parallel universe where employees enjoy going to work. They feel empowered and fulfilled—so much so that they don't care about the size of their paychecks and never want to leave their jobs. That's exactly the sort of nightmare scenario that would destroy the economy. The last thing this world needs is a bunch of dopey-happy workers who can't stop humming and grinning. Our system requires a continuous supply of highly capable people who are so disgruntled with their jobs that they are willing to chew off their own arms to escape their bosses. The economy needs hamster-brained sociopaths in management to drive down the opportunity cost of entrepreneurship. Luckily, we're blessed with an ample supply." said SCOTT ADAMS, the creator of Dilbert in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

As a headhunter, there is more truth than humor in Mr. Adams article. Bad managers are the reason many people answer the phone when I call. Most of these people are managers themselves, abused by higher management - from outright narcisism and sociopathic executives to just a lack of opportunity to grow in a company.


"Though most of my immediate bosses were entirely reasonable and competent, the organization at large was riddled with hamster-brained sociopaths in leadership roles. Surely, I thought, this must be a problem that exists no place else on Earth. Otherwise we'd all be living in caves and holding long meetings on the feasibility of using sticks as stabby things.

The economy needs workers who are fed up, desperate and willing to quit their jobs for something better. Remember, only quitters can be winners, because you can't do something great until first you quit doing something that isn't.


I have always assumed there's a correlation between imagination and risk-taking. You wouldn't leave an unpleasant but relatively safe situation unless you could imagine a better outcome. So the people who leave a company first tend to be the visionaries who can best imagine entrepreneurial success. Bad management is how imagination gets wings." To read Scott Adams funny yet thought provoking article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704353504575596372042140924.html?KEYWORDS=the+perfect+stimulus:+bad+management