The Emperor’s New Rules

The last sentence really nails what's behind that queasy feeling some workplaces give off when you can't specifically figure out why they feel dishonest.

"The feeling of inconsequence is reinforced when Hastings flat-out admits that if you work in a non-creative field, his managerial framework doesn’t apply. “If you’re leading an emergency room,” he writes, “testing airplanes, managing a coal mine, or delivering just-in-time medication to senior citizens, rules with process is the way to go.” That is, if society depends on what you do, treating business like a competitive game played by an elite squadron of breathtaking colleagues won’t cut it. Meritocracy, if it functions at all, seems to work best when nothing is at stake."

I thought this was a fun reframing of the traditional way "talent" is thought of in the workplace. The connotation of the word kennel really seems to strike at the truth under the haze of buzzwords.

"All one needed to blast through the rapids of the new economy was a small dinghy packed with perky geniuses who had been plucked from the meritocratic kennels of the world’s most elite institutions."