Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1455IR // #c1455Verbatim excerpt
In the midst of them, the hangman, ever busy and ever worse than useless, was in constant requisition

— Source: A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

[Use when]

A manager writes a zero-tolerance firing policy for tiny clock-in errors. Kill the policy and fix the scheduling software instead.

[Why it matters]

Weak leaders use harsh rules to avoid fixing broken systems. When you punish a sixpence theft like a murder, crime keeps rising. The public loses all respect for the judge and the law.

Filed under situations:When the team is looking to you to lead

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