Power Corrupts

​A set of research studies reported in the Wall Street Journal found that nice people–people who are polite, honest, outgoing and compassionate–are more likely to rise to positions of power in the organizations they worked for. These findings held true for corporations, the military and politics. It turns out that people bestow authority on people they genuinely like. That’s the good news; now for the bad news. According to the article, once these nice people get into positions of power they start to act like fools. They do things like flirt with interns, solicit bribes and fudge financial data which, in turn, often leads to their downfall. The article went on to say that even the most virtuous people can be undone once they get a taste of power. The lesson here is that if you ever come into a position of power, never forget what got you there–because what got you there will keep you there.

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