Compelling new evidence that "bad is stronger than good" when it comes to leader
By Bobsutton1 · October 24, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Compelling new evidence that "bad is stronger than good" when it comes to leaders. That's why I wrote "The No Asshole Rule"--not "The Power of Nice" back in 2007. That's why I (believe) it has sold over a million copies worldwide. And why I want to reinforce the message by coming out with the 20th Anniversary Edition next year--that includes a new foreword.
And it is why, as I have argued and documented for more than two decades, the first order of business to eliminate the negative rather than to accentuate the positive. To keep toxic people out of organizations. To reform them or send them packing if you can't. To avoid working with them if you can because they damage your performance and soul. And--dear leaders--to avoid becoming a jerk yourself. That means recognizing when you (we--and me too) behave like a temporary asshole and coming to grips with your enduring flaws if you are certified asshole. My motto is "assholes are us," that all of us who wield power over others--rather than just pointing the finger of blame at others--need to take a look in the mirror too. Here's the link to my forthcoming new edition:
https://lnkd.in/gR7Rterb
See the link to remarkable study by Hallgeir Sjåstad, Jareef Martuza, and Jay Van Bavel, PhD in the comments. While the authors argue (with good evidence) that there is "positivity bias" in business education, they document that "Glassdoor reviews show that people mentioned their leader 70% more often in the negative than positive section, and negative leader mentions predicted company ratings 1.5 times more strongly. Providing causal evidence, five high powered experiments across 40 countries ( =51,433) revealed that people were more willing to sacrifice time and money to avoid a bad leader than obtaining a good leader across morality and competence, hypothetical and incentivized choice, ideology and culture."
This is what evidence-based management looks like folks--a big thank you to these persistent and talented professors. This stream of studies was a massive amount of work.