I was watching the movie Idiocracy last night on Comedy Central, and it occurred to me that some businesses operate in a similar fashion. In the movie plot the smart people on earth are not breeding at the same pace (or at all) as the dumb people, ergo, in the future the planet is inhabited by morons.
In the case of the business parallel, I posit that certain companies operate, especially in the lower and middle management levels, by promoting the stupid. A typical middle manager has no real skills, no actual mental acuity, and very little personality, and was likely promoted to their current position by someone with even less skills, mental acuity and personality. Why? Because, if they were to hire someone competent, smart and personable they would look even worse by comparison. They would then fear that someone at the executive level* would notice and decide that maybe that smart guy would be better at your job and you might be better as a custodian.
*not likely to happen as executives are supposed to be looking at the "big picture" e.g. checking their portfolio, deciding what yacht to buy, etc.
In the case of the business parallel, I posit that certain companies operate, especially in the lower and middle management levels, by promoting the stupid. A typical middle manager has no real skills, no actual mental acuity, and very little personality, and was likely promoted to their current position by someone with even less skills, mental acuity and personality. Why? Because, if they were to hire someone competent, smart and personable they would look even worse by comparison. They would then fear that someone at the executive level* would notice and decide that maybe that smart guy would be better at your job and you might be better as a custodian.
*not likely to happen as executives are supposed to be looking at the "big picture" e.g. checking their portfolio, deciding what yacht to buy, etc.
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