Sometimes it can seem as if the executive suites of large organisations are actually lunatic asylums.
A director of one of the US’s biggest companies recently regaled me with stories from the front line of corporate madness. Its boardroom has been dominated by infighting for years. Chief executives come and go, the business blunders on, but politics overshadows everything.
This company is so large it would take a nuclear attack to sink it. Yet its very scale means those jockeying to be captain of the ship can afford to spend their entire time backstabbing, stealing credit from rivals and waging turf wars. Shareholders, customers, staff – they are almost ignored while the various leaders seek status at any cost.