Those arrogant executives...

Throughout my life, I've encountered numerous executives. Most don't seek the opinion of the Communications Manager; instead, they impose their conditions: "I want you to arrange a press conference for the day after tomorrow (when I have some free time), at seven in the evening (the time that suits me best), at this location (because I have another matter to attend to there)." When the Communications Manager asks what will be announced at this press conference, the executive responds vaguely, partly because he himself isn't clear on what he'll say... he'll just wing it. What I've just described is an absolute outrage, an absurdity... yet it's real... and, unfortunately, extremely common.

This type of arrogant executive only thinks about themselves and believes everything revolves around them. They express their power in a dictatorial manner, issuing commands without listening to others. This exercise of power creates followers... employees who comply with their wishes without contradiction, mainly because opposing them would only serve to enrage them... and risk their job or, at least, their prospects for advancement within the company. In other words, the Communications Manager who points out the flaws in their approach knows they won't change their mind, that the only thing they'll achieve is confrontation... and that, ultimately, they'll have to comply and do things as ordered. If this was common some years ago, it's infinitely worse now because these executives know that a job is a scarce commodity, so scarce that there are thousands of perfectly qualified candidates willing to do the same job for less money than is currently paid to the Communications Manager.

 

A journey through the history of the pharmaceutical industry and one of its great laboratories that had its origins in Alfred Nobel...
“From Alfred Nobel to AstraZeneca” (Vicente Fisac, Amazon) is available in e-Book and print editions: https://a.co/d/9svRTuI