The Sociopaths, The Clueless, and The Losers

This is another startling insightful analysis that I perused several years ago but the features of which have been rattling around in my brain telling me I need to revisit. Also known as the "Gervais Principle" it’s an elegantly brief and damning assessment about the ways to power and a cogent summary of our corporate/societal business culture which we call capitalism.

Thoughts by Venkatesh Rao from https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-or-the-office-according-to-the-office/ In the full article all the following points are explained in reference to Ricky Gervais' The Office.

Based on the axiom that organizations don’t suffer pathologies; they are intrinsically pathological constructs. The Sociopaths comprise the "will-to-power" types who drive an organization to function despite itself. The Clueless layer are essentially the mindless middle management drones. The Losers are not social losers (as in the opposite of “cool”), but people who have struck bad bargains economically – giving up capitalist striving for steady paychecks.

The Sociopaths have created a meta-culture of Darwinism in the economy: one based on job-hopping, mergers, acquisitions, layoffs, cataclysmic reorganizations, outsourcing, unforgiving start-up ecosystems, and brutal corporate raiding. The Sociopaths enter and exit organizations at will, at any stage, and do whatever it takes to come out on top. The contribute creativity in early stages of an organization’s life, neurotic leadership in the middle stages, and cold-bloodedness in the later stages.

Losers actually produce, but a la Marx, are not compensated in proportion to the value they create. The Losers like to feel good about their lives. They are the happiness seekers, rather than will-to-power players. They could become Sociopaths, but normally turn into bare-minimum performers. They have no more loyalty to the firm than the Sociopaths. They do have a loyalty to individual people, and a commitment to finding fulfillment through work when they can, and coasting when they cannot. They pay their dues, do not ask for much, and find meaning in life elsewhere.

The Clueless are the ones who lack the competence to circulate freely through the economy (unlike Sociopaths and Losers), and build up a perverse sense of loyalty to the firm, even when events make it abundantly clear that the firm is not loyal to them. To sustain themselves, they must be capable of fashioning elaborate delusions based on idealized notions of the firm and they hang on as long as possible, long after both Sociopaths and Losers have left.

Another fascinating point: it is essential to buffer the intense chemistry between the producer-Losers and the leader-Sociopaths with enough Clueless padding in the middle to mitigate the risks of business. Without it, the company would implode. The average-performing, mostly-disengaged Losers can create diminishing-margins of profitability, but not sustainable performance or growth. You need a steady supply of Sociopaths for that, and you cannot waste time moving them slowly up the ranks, especially since the standard promotion/development path is primarily designed to maneuver the Clueless into position wherever they are needed. The Sociopaths must be freed up as much as possible to actually run the business, with or without official titles.

.... more soon

/// peace @clumsysilverdad