It doesn't sound like he's gone about optimising for talent, though. More like he's optimised for enthusiasm — which isn't a bad thing, but doesn't necessarily

It doesn't sound like he's gone about optimising for talent, though. More like he's optimised for enthusiasm — which isn't a bad thing, but doesn't necessarily correlate with talent — and desperation. The majority of the most talented people aren't going to stay around for the abuse, they'll leave for better jobs elsewhere. Surely MBA-101 isn't "treat people like shit and you'll get the best out of them"?