Middle Managers Largely Exist To Be Full Of Absolute Sh*t

Tale as old as time — jargon and the spreadsheets.

Ahem. Consider:

Jackall’s (1986) study of a large American corporation found that bullshitting was systematically expected of middle managers in the company. One informant told Jackall that his job involved ‘characterizing the reality of a situation with any description that is necessary to make that situation more palatable to some group that matters. Everyone knows that it’s bullshit, but it’s accepted. This is the game’. A crucial aspect was not using too much or too little bullshit, and also being able to judge the appropriate moment to bullshit. Competent bullshitters also needed to become competent audience members for performances of bullshit.

There’s also this:

When ignorance is noisy, uninformed actors do not simply stay silent…