Winning Is the Best Deodorant Until Your Culture Starts to Reek
Why success masks organizational dysfunction and how to smell the rot before it hits the exit interviews
AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
Coffee Sips & Writing Tips
The Magazine Founders Who Brew Bold Ideas and Build Bigger Dreams
Cover Story: Winning Is the Best Deodorant Until Your Culture Starts to Reek
Everyone loves a winner - especially when it means ignoring Mark in finance terrorizing interns.
Nothing masks the stench of dysfunction like the sweet smell of quarterly profits.
Success is the perfect smokescreen for toxic culture. While champagne flows for hitting targets, talent slips out the back door. Winning blinds leadership to rot - like noticing sour milk only after it’s on your cereal.
The Sparkling Lie Behind Every KPI Trophy Wall
When revenue hides rotten core values
It’s fascinating how profits trigger an allergic reaction to feedback.
“We value transparency and open communication,” says the mission statement etched in gold in the lobby — while upstairs, Sarah from marketing gets cut off mid-sentence for the fifth time today.
These core values look great framed on walls and in investor decks. They sound profound in all-hands meetings. Yet they vanish the moment someone suggests working until 11 PM isn’t excellence — it’s a future heart condition.
Promotions for Pirates and Panic Rooms for Everyone Else
“Jim closed a $3M deal this quarter, so we’ll ignore that three people quit his team citing ‘psychological warfare.’”
Toxic high performers get overlooked as reliably as subway delays.
Screaming in meetings? Forgiven.
Credit theft? Overlooked.
Workplace chaos? Promoted to VP.
Meanwhile, HR sends another email about “psychological safety” from their bunker, hiding from execs who overrule every recommendation.
How to Ignore Every Red Flag Like a True Visionary
Celebrate wins loudly enough to drown out complaints
Nothing says “we’re totally fine” like overcompensating with celebration.
“Welcome to our eighth Champagne Thursday this month! No, don’t worry that we’ve lost 40% of our customer success team — LOOK, BUBBLES!”
True leadership cranks success loud enough to drown warning sirens.
Why listen to exit interviews when you can enjoy the sweet sound of a cash register?
Your Glassdoor rating looks like a failing restaurant health score? Probably just a glitch.
Coffee Break: Sip on This!
This week’s brew: Vietnamese Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng) - decadent, custard-like drink often served in small cups over a bowl of hot water to keep it war.
Did you know? Vietnamese Egg Coffee is a celebrated specialty in Vietnam, representing the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Vietnamese culture. It’s enjoyed as a dessert and a conversation starter in Hanoi’s coffee shops.
Make Burnout a Badge of Honor
Not sending 3 AM emails? You must not believe in the mission.
Burnout signs aren’t red flags - they’re merit badges.
Dark circles? Promotion material.
Crying in the bathroom? Passion.
Companies burn through talent like kindling - then wonder why their “greatest asset” keeps updating LinkedIn.
Nothing says sustainability like treating people like disposable batteries.
The Stench Always Rises but Leaders Love Expensive Air Freshener
Redesign the office before fixing anything that matters
“Team morale is down? Quick, order standing desks and a ping pong table!”
Who needs functional management when you have nap pods?
Executives greenlight $200,000 renovations but balk at $5,000 for leadership training.
“No budget for that,” they say - beneath the new living plant wall with its own staff.
Launch an Anonymous Survey and Immediately Ignore It
The corporate version of “let’s talk later” is the employee engagement survey.
“We want your honest feedback!”
Then the results vanish - like all the missing staplers.
Worse than ignoring employees? Asking for feedback, then doing nothing.
It’s not true dysfunction until someone leaks screenshots to TikTok.
Success Should Smell Like Progress Not Febreze Over Dysfunction
Winning is great - unless you’re standing on a dumpster fire.
The best companies don’t ignore problems in good times - they strengthen their foundation.
During your next victory lap, ask: does success smell like progress or Febreze over dysfunction?
Because sure, your Q4 numbers look great - but so did Theranos’ projections.
And we all know how that story ended.
“Dope Copy for Dope Folks”
👉 Join the Paid Edition for Exclusive Deep Dives:
Advanced SEO Tactics for Creators
The One-Page Marketing Plan That Actually Works
ChatGPT Prompts for Better Business Copy
🚀 Ready to Build Your Legacy? Hit that subscribe button - we’ll bring the coffee.
You can help support my work by Buying Me A Coffee