Why Your Boss is Programmed to Be a Dictator

I recently met a very interesting book author - Chetan Dhruve. He's written a book with a rather provocative title called "Why Your Boss is Programmed to Be a Dictator."


You can read a manifesto of the book on Change This.

In the book, Chetan proposes that corporations be structured like democratic nations with employees having the right to elect (yes ... elect!) their leaders. As a company-founder and owner, I had major issues with the concept. Three major problems are:

1. Adverse Selection: When you elect your leader as your boss, the most popular person will tend to get elected (the pretty office secretary may land up becoming the company president :).

2. Moral Hazard: Elected bosses will tend to avoid taking unpopular decisions and focus on actions that are popular (3-day workweeks and all-day body massages while you work :)

3. Speed: Democracies, while being efficient in the long-run, tend to be full of inefficiencies in the short-run. But we're all dead in the long run. Companies need to deliver results fast and be willing to change directions quickly.

The idea definitely has some potential and may even work in some industries and situations. One example that comes to mind is Ricardo Semler's Semco. For the foreseeable future though, the best way to avoid working for a dictator will be to start your own business.