A fairy tale i wrote about an evil boss man …
Once upon a time, in a far distant land with trolls and magic, there was a lively little village, with a thriving trade of goods and services. The village mostly consisted of good and decent human beings. It also had many small, personable, and informal businesses.
The village unfortunately had a struggling business, by the name of Irksome Inc. The boss man of this business, went by the name Schmuck. He had crooked and yellow teeth, and looked a bit like a troll. But he was still very confident and charming. Being someone with sociopathic tendencies, he was also very good at manipulation. And because of certain bad deeds in the past, he was slowly being taken over by evil.
Despite being deeply unqualified for the job as boss man, he had still been given the chance. His only previous work experience was in sales, he had been a traveling salesman. Nobody knew that this had been a cover, that he was simply traveling around to find innocent children he could eat.
Schmuck could always rely upon his unbelievable charm, to get whatever he wanted in life. The woman who interviewed him for the position of boss man, had quickly fallen in love with him at their first in-person meeting. She had never before been given much attention by boys or men, so she was overwhelmed and unable to resist his trollish and unusual charm. She was completely spellbound, poor thing.
Schmuck’s sociopathic tendencies and evil, were hidden quite well beneath a smooth facade of joviality. He would always greet his underlings with a warm smile. He would even try to pat some underlings on their back, especially any beautiful women. And at the same time, he would silently be plotting his own gain, at every underling’s expense. His charm and clever manipulation, made it difficult for others to see his deceit.
The business had many hardworking individuals. They labored tirelessly at their job, earned much gold for the business, often found new customers for the business, and sometimes even worked for free. They went above and beyond. They possessed knowledge, talents and a superb work ethic.
Then when Schmuck came along and wanted more control, he divided and conquered his own underlings. He created conflict, mistrust and outright mayhem. Everyone on their own made them weak and him strong. He manipulated, extorted and pressured underlings to do unsavory things. All under the guise of being their all-knowing and wise boss man. The toxic work environment he created, would surely have won prizes for being the worst, if these had existed where this was happening.
However, as time passed by, the underlings began to see through Schmuck’s crumbling facade. Secretly they agreed to move on from manufactured conflicts, forget past mistakes, and discuss their many uncomfortable experiences with Schmuck as boss man. They realized they had been pit against each other. But how were they to fight this evil psycho, Schmuck the Evil? They needed a magician, someone stronger than Schmuck. Surely someone must be able to help them? Schmuck needed to get his comeuppance, for treating everyone so bad.
Then one day, one of the underlings found a magic stone lying by the road. When she picked it up, she felt courage and hope. This young, red-haired woman, by the name Cry, immediately knew this was it; the chance to remove Schmuck from power. She was already heading to work, and decided in a flash she was going to call Schmuck out, in front of everybody.
She arrived at work, waited for everyone else, then confronted Schmuck. Schmuck’s smile faded, he insisted they should complete this little talk in private. She told him ‘no’. Every underling had suffered under Schmuck’s rule. And now they all felt a surge of courage and unity. No longer would they tolerate his deceit. They stood up against him, confronted him, a chorus of truth and justice.
Schmuck’s power broke. His sociopathic ways could not match every underling united, and their desire for a fair and just boss man. One by one, the underlings opened up and told the rest about their own worst experience, in dealing with Schmuck as boss man. This exposed Schmuck’s many lies and manipulations. And in the face of such overwhelming evidence, Schmuck was destroyed. His image, trustworthiness and reputation, was no longer.
The business of Irksome Inc., no longer under the spell of Schmuck the Evil, saw him for who he truly was; a big, fat and evil sociopath, in sheep’s clothing. Stripped of his influence, Schmuck was banished and told to never come back.
And with Schmuck’s departure, Irksome Inc. blossomed again under new leadership. The underlings, now freed from a tyrant’s twisted power game, were able to have som peace and harmony again. This rejuvenated the business, and brought back some much needed prosperity. And so the underlings of Irksome Inc. lived happily ever after.
This tale of Schmuck the Evil, serves as a reminder that genuine leadership is not about perceived power. One should instead strive for trust, cooperation, accountability, fairness, et cetera. Lift up others, forgive and forget.
The End