Dear Bob ...Your logic (in "The mathematics of organizational dysfunction," Keep the Joint Running, 1/22/2007) is impeccable. Unfortunately, managers don't care for logic. It usually comes down to ego which means that they can't be seen as being wrong ( which makes no sense from a business standpoint- organizations should be without ego ). This has been a painful lesson for me on more than one occasion since one Dear Bob …Your logic (in “The mathematics of organizational dysfunction,” Keep the Joint Running, 1/22/2007) is impeccable. Unfortunately, managers don’t care for logic. It usually comes down to ego which means that they can’t be seen as being wrong ( which makes no sense from a business standpoint– organizations should be without ego ). This has been a painful lesson for me on more than one occasion since one can follow procedure and guidelines and still be “wrong” according to a manager. I have to learn not to get angry at them. I need to remember the following: “It is natural for the immature to harm others. Getting angry with them is like resenting a fire for burning.” — Shantideva– Seriously annoyedDear Annoyed … Interesting quote. It leaves one to wonder … with whom is it appropriate to become angry?Not really a serious question. The answer is, nobody, because (a) anger makes people stupid; and (b) usually, when someone becomes angry, it’s because someone else has encouraged them to do so as a way to manipulate them.– Bob Dear Bob …I get angry when managers above me do dumb things such as tell me I wrote a “weak” ticket last week about an insecure system when in fact the consensus is that it was a valid ticket (He blanket emailed his negative response to the whole business unit. My immediate supervisor got shot down appealing the ticket due to politics.).If I act during that angry impulse, I risk a backlash from them. But if I use logic against them and I’m not angry, the effect seems to be the same. It seems to be a lose/lose scenario for the employee. It seems the Dilbert Principle is in full swing in corporations these days. Anger can be a good thing when applied in the right situations. Wars are born from anger against governments and successful wars change things. Actions stemming from quick angry responses seem to be fruitless in general though, as you point out.It is definitely justified to become angry with the collective stupidity of people, governments and institutions, although how to channel that anger constructively is a challenge itself. Gandhi and MLK successfully channeled their anger into successful strategies that were, ironically, peaceful pursuits.– Still annoyed Dear Annoyed …I sympathize – ugly situation. My analysis is unchanged. Anger does serve a useful evolutionary purpose. In most of the situations we face, though, anger is something that controls us, and results in our acting ineffectively.Here’s the challenge I’d pose to you: You’re trapping yourself by only considering two alternatives. If you use anger and it’s ineffective, and you use facts and logic and it’s ineffective, then stop using either anger or facts and logic. Try a third course: Game out the situation and plan strategy and tactics that give you a chance to achieve your goals. – Bob Technology Industry