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1. Yoel Roth. We encounter this archetype often in the higher echelons of power. The Pernicious Manager. The The Theater Kid Occupier. The Manageouisie... I've encountered him over and over again. What drives him? What is the source of his power?
2. Let us examine Roth next to his twin, Kyle Robertson, a fellow member of the Manageoisie. Robertson is the founder of virtual mental health startup Cerebral. Cerebral essentially paid off doctors to write Adderall scripts to anybody who asked. It's now under investigation.
3. CREDENTIALISM: Both Roth and Robertson went to Penn, one undergrad, one Wharton. One was valedictorian of his high school. One worked at Harvard. One Accenture. Columbia. Etc. The Manageouisie is both driven and powered by PRESTIGIOUS CREDENTIALS.
4. After college, I worked w 95% Ivy League grads. Not all were Manageouisie, but many were. Their resumes were more important than sex, food, friends, health—it their most vital passion. And these resumes were defined not by experiences, but the institutions listed.
5. In same environs, I encountered my first Harvard Law School student. Not a dashing bluebood, I was surprised to discover a effeminate, (although straight) striver who spoke in pre-Yas-Queen girlisms. TBH, it was shocking at first.Later I visited Harvard and found much the same
6. Which brings us to IDENTITARIANISM: Manageoisie are privately cynical, publicly hopeful. The lens for their hope ALWAYS takes the form of IDpol. They may not be gay, but they will find at least one protected class to occupy. Roth and Robertson shared this in common.
7. This also brings us back to the all-important resume Harvard teaches a resume class. The "public service" section is the most important part beyond the prestige name game. You must engage in some identity-based orgs or research. Here is Robertson (L) and Roth (R).
8. Beyond advancement, Manageoisie use identity as a defense. Anyone who challenges them will instantly be taken to task based on any intersectional factors the opponent lacks. It's their effective and constantly wielded shield.
9. Which leads us to their third trait: CYNICISM. Manageoisie will often be surprisingly open about the machinations of their social climbing. They're open and proud of it—"yeah b*tch I'm shameless!" They assume everyone does it, they just do it better. They form in-groups.
10. This why Manageoisie make great employees, but nightmare bosses. If you' re equal or higher in hierarchy, they lavish with total adoration. If under, they'll treat you with open, almost astounding levels of disdain. This gives them a certain mystique inside organizations.
11. Stop being valuable to them, or worse, part ways with them, they will instantly abandon all appearances and treat you with war-like viciousness. Their discourse will return to sassy, childlike extremity. They will not hesitate to be deeply personally insulting and cruel.
12. People have outdated ideas about professionalism. Current hierarchies select for entirely different traits than they did only a half century ago. In understanding the Manageoisie, we prepare for their unpredictable behavior, which is effective because it's so surprising.
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