“When You Get That Wealthy, You Start to Buy Your Own Bullshit”

Article title is an excerpt from a quote about FB management. Interesting article, mainly about morality not being much of a consideration in "schools of leadsership / management". The title isn't entirely related to the content.

"The truth is, Harvard Business School, like much of the M.B.A. universe in which Sandberg was reared, has always cared less about moral leadership than career advancement and financial performance."

This is based on what society's measures are. Success (career advancement) and Wealth (financial performance). Easy.

Morality is only ever factored in when you get caught, in which case it becomes a race to find better wording than your accuser around mitigating circumstances, the greater good, well intentioned, and good old fashioned finger pointing. Let the lawyers sort that shit out, I got money to make over here...

You have to believe your own bullshit in order to achieve the success that gets you that wealthy in the first place, and that kind of personality will disregard moral issues if they're only lightly touched on as part of their 'leadership and management' education; if they're not forced to face the potential consequences of immoral behaviour.

The big unanswerable question (I have, anyway) is: Would society be better or worse off if the Bill Gates' and Elon Musk's and Sheryl Sandberg's of the world reigned in their win-at-all-costs personalities in order to be more respectful?

Are these people pushing humanity forward at a reasonable price? Do the ends justify the means?

The answer is unknowable and also variable depending on the individual in question.