Counting Our Blessings

I work for a company where they announced today who the next CEO was going to be, and everyone cheered. Sincerely. We knew he was a guy who knows everybody's name, keeps everyone clued in, and actually does something about what the lower echelons think and want. He used to be the president of our division. He's worked in just about every division, and he's done great things for all of them. He's also wonderful on selling outsiders on our company and getting accounts from them.

And it took all of four minutes after the announcement for one of the old hands to inform the new that, "He's hot, too." Heh. Yes, we are a company of over 75% women...can you tell? But it was probably just as well; we wouldn't want the newbies to be totally unprepared, since today or tomorrow will no doubt see one of his sudden excursions through the aisles to chat with people and see how things are going. (Also, to be honest, I ditched most of the other company pictures of people playing volleyball at a company outing, but his picture was one I kept -- mostly so I could send it to female friends and get their amusing reactions....)

But there's something fun with all our senior staff that we joke about, and if the guy was an idiot or a jerk his looks would be something to mock. It's his smarts and attention to our company's old school values that we really appreciate, both women and men. We're blessed to have the kind of leadership that most working people can only dream of, and we look forward to the future with justified pride.

(Btw, the current president of our division is female and also strikingly good-looking. Just so you don't think it's discrimination, the women in our company are also known to comment about this. Though they're more likely to focus on "I want hair/makeup/an outfit/height like hers", obviously....)

Anyway, why are good, smart bosses so rare? Maybe not everybody can have business acumen, but you'd think most people could figure out you catch more flies with honey, or that good people work best with very little prodding. Instead, some folks like to work out their problems on other people, or indulge their yen for dominance.

Of course, I'm also someone who just can't see the point in being an Evil Overlord. Well, maybe over the publishing industry, the record companies and Hollywood. But even then I don't think I'd be too interested in the petty details. As long as they produced artistic tribute of satisfactory quality, I'd just lounge around Fortress Evil Overlord and let people fend for themselves. I guess I'd be more of a Laissez-Faire Overlord.