George Stern doesn’t write most of his content. His audience sends it to him: up to 20 screenshots a day of the worst things bosses have texted their employees.
Stern, a leadership coach and management consultant, reads them on camera and explains what the boss should have done. It’s made him one of the internet’s go-to voices on bad management. His TikTok account has about 246,000 followers and 13.3 million likes, and recent clips have pulled more than 2 million views each. NPR profiled him in October.
Here’s the kind of message that made him famous. An employee writes: “My grandmother passed away last night. I’ll be taking bereavement leave this week. At the airport now.” The boss replies: “Could you dial into the pitch from Ohio?” NPR reported.
For any coach or consultant trying to get noticed, the interesting part isn’t the bad bosses. It’s the machine he built.
How He Built It
He started with plain advice that barely worked. About two years ago, Stern posted management tips and infographics on LinkedIn, Fortune reported. People started messaging him about their own bosses. He answered privately and rarely heard back, so he decided the stories deserved a wider audience, Colorado Public Radio reported.
His audience writes the content. After one video about a manager questioning an employee’s bereavement leave, he got roughly 100 similar stories, and he now receives up to 20 new submissions a day, Fortune reported. He never runs out of material because his followers keep sending it.
One format, over and over. Read the screenshot. React. Explain what a good boss would do. He posted at least 16 videos between Oct. 6 and Oct. 24, according to his TikTok page.
The platform matters. The same idea that has 246,000 followers on TikTok has about 4,000 subscribers on YouTube. Pick the platform where your format fits and put your energy there.
He keeps the message simple. “The lesson in all of this, if you want to be a good boss, is be a good human being or don’t be a jerk,” he told NPR.
The Business Behind the Videos
Stern’s résumé would impress any client: Harvard Law, the White House Counsel’s Office, McKinsey, two private-sector CEO jobs and a term as a county clerk in Colorado, according to Colorado Public Radio and Ynet. He also runs a firm that buys and builds small businesses, Fortune reported.
But nobody shares a résumé. They share a screenshot of a boss asking for proof that someone’s grandmother died. The videos are the front door, and his credentials do the work once people walk in.
Before Your Next Meeting
Here’s what this means for your business:
- What are your clients already sending you that could be content? Stern’s followers send him up to 20 stories a day. Look at your last 30 DMs and emails. Which questions or stories keep repeating, and could you answer one publicly each week?
- What’s the one format you could repeat 16 times a month? Stern doesn’t reinvent his videos. Pick one simple structure (a question, a teardown, a before and after) and commit to it for 30 days before judging it.
- Are you on the platform where your format actually works? Stern’s same content has 246,000 followers on TikTok and about 4,000 on YouTube. Check where your posts get the most response, and spend your time there first.
Sources: NPR via WCBE; Fortune; Colorado Public Radio; Ynet; George Stern on TikTok.
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