"Why Stupid People Get Hired"

Can you have fun with wikipedia? Let's try. There is a tiny book entitled, "Why Stupid Can you have fun with Wikipedia? Let's try. There is a tiny book entitled: "Why Stupid People Get Hired." I Googled it for reviews. The title is worth a million dollars but what's in it? Wikipedia popped up on the subject. I'm not new to stupidity but I am new to the amount of thinking that's been done on the subject.

Who knew historian Carlo Cipolla wrote an essay on the laws of human stupidity? Having a lifelong sympathy for the hand most managers have been dealt, I hope the following eases your pain and helps your understanding of the people that surround you. Here are Cipolla's five fundamental laws of stupidity.

1. Always and inevitably each of us underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
2. The probability that a given person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic possessed by that person.
3. A person is stupid if they cause damage to another person or group of people without experiencing personal gain, or even worse causing damage to themselves in the process.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the harmful potential of stupid people; they constantly forget that at any time anywhere, and in any circumstance, dealing with or associating themselves with stupid individuals invariably constitutes a costly error.
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person there is.

It's one of those time release concepts. You feel superior at first reading, then you pause and realize stupid is a bell curve thing. Somebody has to be on the left side of the curve. Looking around, - could it be me?

The management take away.

1. Stupid is contextual. Forrest Gump was brilliant in his own way, and at running.
2. Nobody needs a smart dog. All of mankind's problems happen because some person couldn't stay at home, in their room and just keep quiet. Smart dogs will bring you a leash, push to be taken for a walk, and generally take over your day.
3. Companies need people who keep the trains running. Stupid or smart are not relevant. Reliable, predictable, loyal, - in many roles these are the most important characteristics.

We live in a clever world. It's entertaining but not always necessary. That said, smart is one good way to get out of many situations.

I know I haven't helped you, but like me, you're probably thinking.

Let's build great companies,
Wolfgang

p.s. It's a real book title, "Why Stupid People Get Hired." I found a copy at PBK Executive Reports. So far, I like the content.

p.s. Carlo, - you are so correct.