Just Don’t Call In Sick

Fri., Sept. 26, 1997

Associated Press

When Japanese civil servants dream of the perfect boss, they don’t envision some warm-and-fuzzy manager who forgives mistakes and lets you take off an extra day now and then.

Their ideal: Genghis Khan.

The 13th century Mongol warrior was named most frequently by new civil servants, who were asked in a survey to identify the person they thought would make the best supervisor.

Katsushi Koizumi, a spokesman for the National Personnel Authority, said Thursday that many young workers regard Genghis Khan as “a man of organization who achieved a united Mongolia, rather than just a conqueror.” The Mongol leader combined brilliant military tactics with brutal force to conquer wide swaths of Asia, the Mideast and Europe.

The government asked 520 newly hired national civil servants who they would most admire as a boss. Seventy-nine listed Genghis Khan- the first non-Japanese to top the list. Finishing second with 52 votes was Akira Ohgi, manager of the Orix BlueWave, a baseball team that won the 1995 Japanese championship.

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Just Don’t Call In Sick

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