I once worked for a company where our most high-profile customer, a well-known grocery chain, was unhappy with the speed at which we were delivering something. There had been Powerpoint presentations and a business lunch, then more meetings in the afternoon, but it was clear they were pretty disgruntled. In the end the customer’s most senior guy asked bluntly why the product had so many problems, and the CEO of our company literally pointed at the only other dev in the room and said, “It’s Mike’s fault. Mike built it.” Unbelievable.

Poor old Mike had been given impossible requirements that had been changed on him every day as the management kept changing their minds, and in the circumstances it was impressive how much he’d put together. But it was just staggering to see the head of the company attempt to throw him under the bus in front of the customer, and also just mind-boggling that he would think this made him look better as a leader. That guy was the biggest dick I’ve ever worked for.