Whether leading a nation or managing a company, the lesson is the same: ignore reality and it will come back and smack you in the face. It’s very important to prevent this from happening in your company.

There are a number of things you can do to ensure that you are not protected from reality.

First, surround yourself with people who tell it like it is. Strange as it seems, this is not an easy task. For one thing, most people know that telling the truth can be politically dangerous and many, like the manager mentioned earlier, are terrified of political fallout.

You need at least a few people around you who aren’t afraid of you and who aren’t concerned with politics. This is where detached and objective outsiders (consultants and directors) are invaluable. You also need honest people inside— people who are so honest and direct they are almost uncomfortable to have around. You don’t have to like them. You just need to listen to them.

Churchill, for example, felt so strongly about this that he created a separate department whose sole responsibility was to root out and present the naked truth about pressing issues. Leaders of great companies never hesitate to reward what Thomas J. Watson, Jr. called “those sharp, scratchy, harsh, almost unpleasant individuals who see and tell you about things as they really are.”

Second, personally stay in touch with what’s happening. Don’t rely solely on status reports or quarterly reviews, and other formal reporting methods for information. Use your company’s products. Listen directly to employees at all levels. Talk to customers. Read consumer reports about your products. Personally answer customer complaints. In short, do whatever you can to keep in touch with reality.

Third, never punish people for telling the truth. We all know the story of how Peter the Great responded to the messenger who brought him news of defeat: he executed him.

2.3. Assholes

“So ask. Don’t be afraid to push. They’ll respect you more if you stand up for what you believe in. Mission-driven “assholes” want to be better at their jobs and fulfill that all-important mission—they want to make sure the company is heading in the right direction.

It’s the assholes who are focused on people—on controlling people—who make work miserable. Real assholes always make it personal. Their motivation is their ego, not the work. As long as they’re winning, they don’t give a shit about what’s happening to the product or what the customer has to deal with. These are the assholes who make it progressively more difficult to create something you’re proud of.

Command and control doesn’t mean decree and ignore.

Complaining is not a strategy. You have to work with the world as you find it, not as you would have it be.

—Jeff Bezos