CXO

The world's worst bosses (real and imagined)

By // June 30, 2010, 3:40 AM PST // tbowers928

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  • Tony Hayward, CEO of BP

    If you work for this guy, you have to be leery of his cost-savings initiatives. He also wins the prize for worst corporate spin/lingo ever by his renaming the boats of all the fishermen cheated out of their livelihoods--Vessels of Opportunity.

    Photo credit: BP

  • SpongeBob SquarePants' Eugene Krabs

    Cheap, greedy, and proud of it. Eugene Krab's favorite thing to say is, "I like money!"

    Photo credit: Nickelodeon

  • Adolf Hitler

    Despite the ridiculous mustache, he was able to rally a multitude of followers behind his “purity of blood” initiative, which resulted in the Holocaust.

  • Gordon Ramsay

    The host of TV’s Hell’s Kitchen is cruelly blunt and negative. He's known as “The Screaming Chef.”

  • J. Edgar Hoover

    He kept FBI agents on call 24 hours a day to do random tasks around his house -- like repairing his lawnmower. And if he didn’t like you, he could fire you AND keep an FBI dossier on you.

  • Martha Stewart

    I imagine the work environment surrounding her to be a cross between Arts and Crafts time and Glengarry Glen Ross.

    Photo credit: CNET News.com

  • Kenneth Lay, CEO of Enron

    When Enron filed bankruptcy (the largest in U.S. history), 4,000 employees lost their jobs. Around 15,000 employees held 62% of their savings in Enron stock, purchased at $83.13 in early 2001 (the stock later plummeted to below a dollar).

  • Charles Manson

    When the company uniform involves a swastika carved into your forehead, it’s maybe not a good career move.

  • Leona Helmsley, Queen of Mean

    If you could get past the hostility and arrogance, you'd still have to deal with the unmitigated greed.

  • George Pullman

    Pullman was a 19th century industrialist who created his own city for his employees to live in. And then charged sky-high rent.

  • Osama bin Laden

    When your job duties include suicide, you know you have a bad boss.

Tony Hayward, CEO of BP

If you work for this guy, you have to be leery of his cost-savings initiatives. He also wins the prize for worst corporate spin/lingo ever by his renaming the boats of all the fishermen cheated out of their livelihoods--Vessels of Opportunity.

Photo credit: BP

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By Toni Bowers

Toni Bowers is the former Managing Editor of TechRepublic and is the award-winning blogger of the Career Management blog. She has edited newsletters, books, and web sites pertaining to software, IT career, and IT management issues.