middle managers
also referred to as: middle manager
4 statements across 2 episodes · 2 bullish · 1 bearish · 2 people on the record · first statement Jan 28, 2016 by Venkatesh Rao · across every show →
Everything said about middle managers, oldest first
Jan 28, 2016 positive
Rao: Free agents replaced middle managers as the modern workforce archetype
“Perhaps the biggest flip is that the defining archetype of the new world of organizations is no longer the middle manager, but in fact the free agent. So people like you and me, the people who don't actually live in organizations at all, but live in the ecosys…”
Jan 28, 2016 negative
Rao: Automating middle management is actively shrinking the middle class
“That's the layer of the working world, at least, that's increasingly being automated. We no longer go through like four layers of approvals to get like a travel expense form reimbursed. We go to a piece of software, enter some details, maybe one person takes a…”
May 20, 2025
Middle managers recognize market shifts long before insulated top executives
“Top executives are often the last to recognize the fundamental shifts because they're insulated from market realities and emotionally invested in the status quo. Middle managers, by contrast, operate at the intersection of the company and the outside world. Th…”