Gil Schwartz | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 20, 1951 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | May 2, 2020 (aged 68) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Stanley Bing |
| Alma mater | Brandeis University (BA) |
Gil Schwartz (May 20, 1951 – May 2, 2020), known by his pen nameStanley Bing,[1] was an American business humorist and novelist. He wrote a column forFortune magazine for more than twenty years[2] after a decade atEsquire magazine.[3] He was the author of thirteen books, includingWhat Would Machiavelli Do?[4] andThe Curriculum, a satirical textbook for a business school that also offers lessons on the web.[5] Schwartz wassenior executive vice president ofcorporate communications and Chief Communications Officer forCBS.[6]
Schwartz was born May 20, 1951, inNew York City, and was raised inNew Rochelle, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Theatre Arts fromBrandeis University.[7][8]
After graduating from college, Schwartz intended to become a playwright. He was a co-founder of Next Move Theatre, an improv troupe based inBoston. Schwartz later landed a communications job atWestinghouse Broadcasting.[9]
Schwartz was a columnist, novelist, and writer of a large body of work dedicated to exploring the relationship betweenpathology andauthority. He first appeared in the pages ofEsquire with a one-page column at the back of the magazine on corporate strategies. In a few years, he moved to the front of the magazine and began a series of 2500-word essays, mainly focused on business-related topics.[10]
His first book was a satirical collection of business terms calledBizwords, based on the concept ofThe Devil's Dictionary.[11]Crazy Bosses, which established the early groundwork for his subsequent career, was published in 1992.[12] At that point Schwartz, who had been writing in secret within a largemultinational corporation, revealed his alter ego to colleagues atWestinghouse, who had until then known him only by his given name. Thereafter, he continued to appear as Schwartz in business settings but published primarily under hispseudonym.[1] A series of best-selling business books followed, includingWhat WouldMachiavelli Do?: The Ends Justify The Meanness;[13]Throwing The Elephant: Zen and the Art of Managing Up;[14]Sun Tzu Was A Sissy,[15] and, published simultaneously in the spring of 2006,Rome, Inc.: The Rise and Fall of the First Multinational Corporation,[16] and100 Bullshit Jobs and How To Get Them.[17] In 2007, Schwartz published a thoroughly revised edition ofCrazy Bosses, adding a layer of strategy that did not exist in the earlier edition,[18] and in 2008,Executricks: How to Retire While You're Still Working.[19] In 2011, Schwartz publishedBingsop's Fables, a version ofAesop's Fables applicable to the business world, populated with corporate archetypes, including The Stupid Investor, the Miserable Misery Mogul, and the Ill-Tempered PR Person. The book was illustrated by Steve Brodner.[20] Schwartz's most recent volume, published in 2014, isThe Curriculum: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master of Business Arts, a 384-page satirical textbook that purportedly provides a complete business education. Illustrated with color PowerPoint graphics, the book includes a core and advanced curriculum, as well as tutorials and electives, with subjects such as "not appearing stupid", "insensitivity training", and "Town Car management".[21]
In a March 2014 interview withFortune magazine, Schwartz claimed that all of his data came from a think tank he incorporated, The National Association of Serious Studies, which "adheres to the highest standards of Internet journalism."[22]
Schwartz also wrote online. In 2007, he began a daily blog, www.stanleybing.com, which appears on theFortune website as well as that of its parent,CNNMoney,[23] and also syndicated his writing and video blogs forHuffPost.[24]
In 1996, Randall Rothenberg, one of Schwartz's colleagues atEsquire, informedThe New York Times that Stanley Bing was actually Gil Schwartz, a CBS executive.[25] TheTimes published an article under the headline "CBS's Best-Kept Secret (Hint Hint)" revealing Schwartz's identity and noting that he "would probably have been able to keep his Swiftian alter ego a secret, known only to a small circle of friends and colleagues, had he not been so successful at his day job." In the article, Schwartz neither confirmed nor denied the claim that he was Stanley Bing. However former CBS Broadcast Group PresidentHoward Stringer, who was aware of the ruse, compared Schwartz/Bing toAndy Rooney andDavid Letterman.[1]
Schwartz continued to write the back page forFortune magazine,[26] while (as Schwartz) holding down a similar post atMen's Health, writing a 2500-word column reminiscent of his earlier work atEsquire.[27]
Schwartz was married to Laura Svienty for 14 years. He had two children, two step-children, and two grandchildren. Schwartz and his wife had previously split their time betweenManhattan andMill Valley, California.
Schwartz died on May 2, 2020, at his home inSanta Monica, California, from cardiac arrest. He was 68.[28]
