I GOT AN F IN FEAR101 | 2004-09-03
The boss of my book team always decides I'm healthy when I start ruminating in this blog about women.
Or, as he unkindly puts it, "imaginary women."
Nobody who works with me seems to have the slightest fear of me or worry themselves sick about whether I might be offended. Folks who worked for me in Washington and elsewhere, people I had the power to fire in a minute, felt the same way.
Two people in Washington offered to take pay CUTS to work for me.
Niccolo Machiavelli considered an important question in his classic book "The Prince." He asked, "Is it better for a leader to be loved or to be feared by those he leads?" He concluded it was better to be feared.
I flunked that test big time.
I scared a lot of people in my rough life, but never anyone I led or bossed. I don't know if they loved me, but they sure as hell weren't afraid of me. The lady who anchors my book team just sent around a note that instructed our people about what not to bother "little Bob" about.
I LOVED it!
Sorry, Niccolo, I failed your test, and it's too late for me to pass it now. If I tried to get my crowd to be scared of me now, they would just laugh and tell me to go sleep it off.