[anon9001]

If you want to contribute to the value of the organization because you're a substantial equity holder, then talk to the founders. A sweatshop with high turnover should be less valuable to an acquirer than a strong team. Your initiative may be well received as leadership and you can get your promotion that way.

If you want to stay in the organization and get promoted by performance metrics, then figure out what numbers are being evaluated and work to maximize them, so that you appear as the model worker. It's not very hard to stay one step ahead of management if that's the game you're playing. If you have the best relationships and the best metrics, you should be able to get your promotions.

If you want to stay in the organization and coast, then who cares, just do what you want and they're almost certainly not going to fire you without plenty of warning. If you do get put on a PIP, then go find a new job immediately, and repeat. From what I can tell, most of the workforce does something similar to this for 30-40 years.

If you're not a leader, not a model worker, and not on autopilot, then you probably need to find a new organization where you can be one of those things.

[jimbokun]

You seem to have re-iterated the Gervais principle:

https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-...

(although leader, model worker, autopilot are more polite terms than sociopath, clueless, and losers)

[anon9001]

Ha, that's fantastic! I didn't know it had a name.

[djhn]

Not just a name, but a whole collection of essays characterizing modern corporate life. And you just managed to summarise its takeaway very eloquently in ordinary, everyday language.

[chii]

What an interesting read. Thanks!

[katrotz]

Eyes opening information. Thanks!