Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal
<i>&gt; In contrast, children will copy every single action, including the unnecessary ones.</i><p>The example that immediately springs to mind, in the tech industry, is the &quot;Steve Jobs Asshole&quot; archetype.<p>Steve Jobs was a notorious manager, in that he made heavy-duty demands, did not suffer fools, and was blunt to the point of abusive.<p>But he was also able to filter for talent, cultivate it, and encourage excellence. He wasn&#x27;t just an asshole. He was really smart, driven, and impatient with things that got in his way.<p>I have worked with two people, in my time, who worked directly with him at one time, or another, and they both <i>hated</i> him, but I have also worked with a number of folks like Steve Jobs, and have learned how to navigate them. It isn&#x27;t pleasant, but it&#x27;s generally worth it, to get on their good side.<p>Unfortunately, a lot of not-so-smart, and not-so-creative people have picked up on the &quot;demanding asshole&quot; part, without the &quot;smart, selective, and creative&quot; part, so they are just assholes. They honestly believe they are channeling Steve, but they don&#x27;t get the same results (for the record, Steve Jobs had a lot more failures than successes, but his successes were off the charts).