> you can achieve great things when you don't give a shit about people

I think this is a completely wrong take from the armchair philosophers.

You actually can't do great things when you treat people like shit. The people who actually do great things strike the right balance between applying pressure and requiring excellence and treating people well. The results of purely treating people like slaves is mediocre.

Even the pyramids were built by well paid craftsmen, not slaves as is commonly believed.