Al Gore: Why We Fired Keith Olbermann

[Ian David]

65. They knew what they were getting when they hired him.

And we all know that certain high-profile people get away with a lot worse when they produce significant returns on your investment.

Their are high-paid executives and broadcasters and sports figures and actors who get away with a lot more than we do at work (and a lot more than Keith Olbermann ever did) and yet they are still retained because they produce the results, the numbers, or the money you expect from them.

Just as some people can become wealthy beyond the reach of market forces, some people can become valuable beyond the reach of the normal accountability that you or I are held to in the workplace.

Whether it be the middle-manager who has a secretary quit every four weeks, or the gifted computer programmer who shows-up in shorts and flip-flops, it's all about the results you get out of them being worth more than the hassle.

Being effective gives you license to be eccentric. Being effective and valuable usually gives you license to do whatever the fuck you want. We've all seen it somewhere.