It’s pretty hard to disagree with what Justin’s blog (and his posted article) are saying. In business, some level of jerkiness is required. The people who are shrewd and can make controlling and potentially unpopular decisions in the workplace often have the advantage against people who aren’t. However, I would point out that executives with a “for the good of my company at all costs” mentality could obscure for themselves what is ethical business practice, and what isn’t.

In class we talked about how the most dangerous kind of unethical practice is when people come to believe that what they are doing wrong is actually right. When you are a “jerk” about your company, ethics can take a back seat to company hegemony. If Steve Jobs was willing to authorize a break-in into someone’s house over the early release of an iphone prototype, then how much farther away is breaking into a competitor’s office building for business information?

Do success and jerkiness have to come as a pair? Warren Buffett, a well known business “nice guy”, is also one of the most successful businessmen alive, his net worth $39billion. Businesses can be successful without resembling the “Gestapo”.