5 examples of terrible CEOs from famous films

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

And lessons to be learned by those who manage people themselves.

1. Bill Lamberg, "Office Space"

Bill Lamberg is the archetype of the idiot boss who is nice to hate. The plot of the film is an excellent satire on the everyday life of a large office from the creator of Beavis and Butt-head. The main character is busy with monotonous work that nobody needs. And Lamberg only teaches employees and walks around the office with a cup of coffee. And his desire to control everything robs the energy of the workers and hurts the company.

Lesson: the attitude towards you also depends on how you treat employees. Be respectful and don't infringe on their personal time. And stop micromanaging: it doesn't help people perform better at all.

To motivate a person, find their "red stapler" - what they most want. This way you can use the person's intrinsic motivation.

2. Miranda Priestley, The Devil Wears Prada

The plot revolves around Andy, an aspiring journalist who gets a job at a prestigious fashion magazine. It is led by the tyrannical Miranda. She does not tolerate objections, demands the impossible and makes life difficult for employees in every way. Demanding, capricious, stingy with praise, Miranda does not explain anything and does not repeat her orders, but demands that the assistants remember everything she needs.

Lesson: instilling fear in subordinates is not the best strategy in the long term. In the end, the best employees will be bored with threats and rude treatment, and they will change jobs. And don't give too vague instructions. Give employees information that will help them complete their task well.

3. Mark Zuckerberg, The Social Network

You probably already know this story: while studying at Harvard, Zuckerberg creates a website with information about students by hacking a university database. While working on another project, he comes up with the concept of Facebook. Gradually, his plans for the site become more and more ambitious, but in the process he has to sue and betray his friends.

Lesson: sometimes it is important not who the idea was, but who was able to implement it. In the end, it was Zuckerberg who managed to create Facebook because he figured out how to turn what he had into a service. He did not back down from his idea, believing that it would bring income (and he was right).

At the same time, in the film, Mark is portrayed as an arrogant and suspicious man who betrayed his friends in order to succeed. So do not forget: self-confidence will help you survive difficulties, but excessive arrogance can cost not only money, but also loved ones. Believe in your abilities, and get rid of arrogance.

4. John Milton, "The Devil's Advocate"

Who has not said at least once that his boss is the devil himself? In this film, it really is. Under the name of John Milton, he lures a young lawyer, Kevin Lomax, who is no longer distinguished by strong moral principles, into his New York firm. And gradually Kevin, who used to strive only for mastery in his field, becomes ruthless and cruel.

Lesson: be guided by your inner compass. Be clear about who you are and what matters to you, and don't let anyone or anything change that. And also remember that no matter how successful you become, a little humility doesn't hurt.

5. Thanos, "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame"

Thanos is hard to beat. He destroyed half of the living creatures in the world - such a cruel act will certainly hang on you the label of a supervillain with megalomania. And it will also turn against you all the superheroes who want to destroy you in the most epic way possible.

Lesson: tyrant bosses eventually find that power is worthless when enough people are willing to remove them. There are positive lessons to be learned from Thanos' leadership style, however.

He is focused on the goal, never deviates from the intended mission and is always ready to meet opponents in personal combat. And Thanos doesn't exactly suffer from a lack of self-confidence. Although his arrogance should be tempered, because it is she who leads him to collapse - twice.