**Sociopaths** (top) - Smart, ambitious people who understand how things really work and use this knowledge to get ahead. **The Clueless** (middle) - Middle managers who believe the company cares about them. They work hard and stay loyal even when it's clearly not in their interest. **Losers** (bottom) - Regular workers who made a bad deal: they traded freedom for a steady paycheck. They're not stupid - they just do the minimum work needed and find happiness outside of work. ![[The Gervais Principle and company hierarchy.png]] ## How Companies Evolve 1. A Sociopath starts a company with some Losers 2. As it grows, they add Clueless middle managers to control things 3. Eventually, Sociopaths and smart Losers leave 4. The Clueless take over and the company dies 5. Sociopaths recycle whatever's valuable ## The Gervais Principle **Sociopaths promote hard-working Losers to middle management, turn lazy Losers into Sociopaths, and ignore average Losers.** Why promote hard workers to middle management? Because anyone who works extra hard for the same pay is an idiot - perfect for a middle management job where they'll loyally follow orders. Why promote lazy workers to top positions? Because they're smart enough to see the job is a bad deal. Instead of working harder, they look for ways to move up. This shows Sociopath potential.