Crazy People Get Bad Reviews

Never hire a crazy person

They can’t be trusted…

• They are unpredictable
• They see the world differently
• They go where others won’t go
• They don’t do what they are supposed to do

You just can’t rely on a crazy person

Crazy ideas

In the late 1980’s a bunch of political activists had an idea.  They wanted to rid themselves of Soviet rule.  The idea was simple.  They would form a human chain, sing the odd folk song or two and make their displeasure known to the Russians. 

They hoped the Soviets would turn their backs on a geographically important territory. They would roll back their military might and hand over self rule to their political opponents. All because of a bit of hand holding.

I’ve evaluated that idea… Long and hard… It was nuts.

I bet the Kremlin was equally unimpressed.

Crazy people.

The human chain

On the 23rd August 1989, Fifty years after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (which ceded control of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to Russia) the people of the Baltic States formed a human chain. It stretched across all three countries, from Tallinn in the north via Riga down to Vilnius, some 400 miles away.

Two million people showed up, roughly a quarter of the entire population of the three states.

They held hands for 15 minutes and then went on their way.

Russia responded with a lot of rhetoric.

Seven months later Lithuania declared independence, Estonia and Latvia followed shortly afterwards.

When I was a teenager in the 1980’s the iron curtain was an inescapable reality. I would never have believed it would fall. Today my sister in law is Lithuanian and my nephews and niece are blonde and baltic. 

Crazy people and crazy ideas

Crazy people don’t always have the best ideas. But the best ideas are always crazy. At least to start with.

Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Steve Jobs

Do you employ any crazy people? How do their appraisals go?

If you enjoyed this post click here to receive the next

Read another opinion

Image by Susan Webber