At some point, maybe quite often actually, you’ve asked yourself how it is possible that the fricking moron, that dude who wouldn’t be able to figure out how to tighten his jock strap is your boss. How does that shit happen?
Billionaire Carl Icahn has a theory, which Portfolio nicely recounted from his Carl’s talk last year at the World Business Forum in New York:
When you were at Indiana University or Penn State or wherever the hell you went – did you join a fraternity or sorority? The president is not necessarily the smartest person in the room, but he/she is nice. The opposite sex likes them. They’re always cheering the house on and being the buddy.
Once you enter the real world of business, this person advances. They don’t take risks or challenge the status quo. They may never have a great idea, but the boss likes him/her, because there is no threat coming from that quarter. He/She does his work, but they are no rock star. No, genius. He/She plays by the rules. He/She shows up and smiles at the holiday party. Soon enough, he/she has smiled, drank and good time Charlie’d their way into the number two spot. The board likes him/her. Next thing you know, he’s the C.E.O or the ECD or the VP of Strategic Planning.
Of course, he/she assigns a #2 who is not that bright, but you know… affable.
“And eventually, we’re going to have all morons running our companies. We might not be that far off from that right now.”