You have a new boss (not the one portrayed above). Against all precedent, he doesn’t change all the old boss’s policies. He keeeps all the ones that working. You’re pretty impressed with your new boss. He is one of a kind.

Most bosses have to put their own stamp on things, even if they have to fix what isn’t broken. It feels more like an authentic expression of themselves that way. It feels more boss-like. It feels like being in charge.  It takes a rare virtue to accept the implied subordination of accepting the work that someone else has already done. The nameless virtue, in fact.

I see Satan as the archetype of all those new bosses. He was quick to point out the flaws in the existing plan. His plan wouldn’t work as well. In fact, it wouldn’t work at all. But by a superficial metric it looked better on paper: Souls Returned to Heaven, Estimated Yield 100%. It also was more him. It put him squarely at the center. It expressed himself. Not just implementing, but creative. Not just working towards a goal, but giving himself scope. His plan looked good by what was, to him, a much less superficial metric: Satan, Large and in Charge, 100%.

The Founder of the firm preferred his own ideas and promoted another manager that he thought would implement it better. Satan started a whispering campaign and managed to disaffect nearly a third of the company. Ultimately mass firings were the only way to save the corporation.