Of all the lies ever told, “Your check is in the mail” is now far down on the list of whoppers. It was long ago replaced by “Of course I will still love you in the morning.” But even that lie pales by this one: “Our search committee has gone to the far corners of the country and found the best qualified person in the land to head up this company.”
Horse feathers! Balderdash! Baloney stacked to the rafters!
For every corporate CEO, every university president, every person appointed to any high level position in any organization, there are at least 50,000 others who are equally or better qualified than the one selected. And that is the unvarnished truth.
How do I know this? For starters search committees are never tasked to find the best qualified person. The pool of those who could do the job extremely well is huge. IQ data support that observation. University graduate data support it. Experience and records of achievement support it. Sifting and sorting among them all for that one “best qualified” person would be endless and pointless. What search committees look for instead is a flunky who will do as he is told—a brainless boob who can barely walk and chew gum at the same time. And so they look for someone just like—them! That’s right. What they don’t want is someone who can think, someone who can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate facts and issues. Oh no. They don’t want someone coming in who will take their inverted pyramid of tweedle dees and tweedle dums and set it back on its foundation. They want someone who will sit down and shut up—a rubber stamp for the status quo. To repeat myself, they want a flunky. And they feel safe when they limit their search to their own “old boy network” where obedience, and conformance, and mediocrity prevail.
Why would they go to such lengths in search of someone who represents the opposite of their assertions about excellence? Because they want to protect their own interests. They have salaries at stake. And retirement packages. And stocks and options on stocks. And status. And lavish offices. And nice homes in gated communities. And country club memberships. You know the pursuits and the perquisites.
The super achievers in life are not interested in perks and phony office dressing. The real achievers are out there studying, and investigating, and doing. They are not interested in becoming anyone’s flunky—not even with all the trappings and the opulence that lures in those with little real ability.
I do rely heavily on 50+ years of experience in the rat race in support of my statements. But there is also a lot of research behind it. Jay Zagorsky at Ohio State U. did a 25-year longitudinal study of 7,400 participants and found no relationship at all between intelligence and wealth accumulation. At a minimum his study rejected any connection between brain power and success in our society. That’s an important rejection of a commonly held belief. I will leave it up to readers to do their own Google searches who want more evidence. It’s there.
So what would an intelligent person in search of purpose and meaning in the job market of life do about my insights? If you are looking for money and status, just work your way into the conformance mold and stay there. Don’t rock the boat. Become a yes man. Get your nose brown while you are down there sniffing and kissing sagging buttocks. You will probably find your dream.
But if you have more than an ounce of integrity, and you want to remain true to yourself, then expect to get kicked in the teeth lot, also back stabbed a lot, and berated a lot in the corporate world. To a lesser degree expect the same outcomes in the academic world and in the public sector. But if you want to avoid the rat race, start your own business if you can. Become a scientist if you can. Or a teacher. If you have any talent as a musician, artist, singer, or actor, then pursue your dreams. Expect a lot of hungry days.
In the end, if you have managed to retain your sanity, you will likely find yourself destitute and homeless. You will be older and wiser, and totally ignored. How do I know this? I would tell you my answer. But by now, I have no readers left…
This is a good one, and so true. I have not done your research, but I have observed mediocre flunkies who are very good at brown nosing move-up rapidly to levels they can't handle. They are often fired for their incompetence (usually dipping into the budget incorrectly for their own benefit) only to pop up in a similar, or even better job in a few months. Their good old boy network working positively in their benefit.
Why most seem to believe that getting a good education or training and achieving will make them rich and famous is probably a result of indoctrination rather than reality. And, you are very accurate about going it alone in business. Most people don't have the skills to run their own business unless they are partnered with startup and operating money and people who do. That's why the Shark Tank is so active.
"The super achievers in life are not interested in perks and phony office dressing. The real achievers are out there studying, and investigating, and doing. They are not interested in becoming anyone’s flunky—not even with all the trappings and the opulence that lures in those with little real ability."
This is the most powerful statement made on Authors Den in the year 2014, Edward...Here's knowing you got my vote and I'm looking forward to your upper tier, intelligent postings in the upcoming year 2015. You're a very researched author and you add much value to this site with a knowledge that states facts that the majority of us appreciate and can use to further our careers. Thanks.
Democratic Dilemmas and Divine Inspiration examines the significance or relevance of the idea that the U.S. Constitution was, as many believe, divinely inspired. How much did that belief matter to founders of the nation and how much does it matter no
Why most seem to believe that getting a good education or training and achieving will make them rich and famous is probably a result of indoctrination rather than reality. And, you are very accurate about going it alone in business. Most people don't have the skills to run their own business unless they are partnered with startup and operating money and people who do. That's why the Shark Tank is so active.
Another insightful one… A keeper!
Ron
This is the most powerful statement made on Authors Den in the year 2014, Edward...Here's knowing you got my vote and I'm looking forward to your upper tier, intelligent postings in the upcoming year 2015. You're a very researched author and you add much value to this site with a knowledge that states facts that the majority of us appreciate and can use to further our careers. Thanks.
Sage