Can a Jerk Be a Successful Manager?
“How bad can we be and still be good?” Posted by Steven Cerri on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 So here’s the question… can a jerk still be a successful manager? The answer of course, is Yes! I know it all depends on how we define “successful” but there is no doubt that within our culture and actually within the business world as a whole, success is usually defined as financial success. There are many people who are financially successful from a business, management, or leadership perspective even though no one would classify them as “not being jerks”. All you have to do is read through the business magazines and journals and you can quickly pick up who is well respected for their “all round” good approach to people as well as business issues and those who are just respected for their “business acumen”. The literature is filled with names like Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Robert Nardelli, Bill Gates, Michael Eisner, and Leona Helmsley. Some of them have changed over time and some have not
