When managers buy favour with their CEOs through flattery, it may be dangerous for both the CEOs and their company.
The story of Albert Dunlap, who in 2001 was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA for accounting fraud, suggests that flattery may be really bad for your career.
As a CEO of Sunbeam Corp, Dunlap intimidated his managers, who gradually discovered that the safest way to get along with him was via flattery. During the subsequent investigations, these managers were ready to help and cooperate with the authorities.
Such behaviour is quite different from other companies, in which managers do all they can do to obstruct and complicate investigations. So what in fact happened?
