Having been through some 'nightmare' crunches myself i do feel some sympathy. However, it is cautious sympathy because this guy chose freely to do this and made

Having been through some 'nightmare' crunches myself i do feel some sympathy. However, it is cautious sympathy because this guy chose freely to do this and made the situation for himself. The fact that he was too weak of character or naive to deal with the situation is entirely his own fault and not something that should be respected or sympathised with too heavily... otherwise the message is that this behaviour is acceptable and that there is nothing wrong with putting yourself in a situation where others will have to pay for your mistakes... Perhaps whats worse is that these situations arise typically because owners, managers etc. make mistakes - and instead of solving it with their skills they simply fob off their responsibility onto their underlings - who end up carrying their dead weight. Leadership is a two way thing. When your leaders fail you don't be afraid to chastise them - especially if you are going to work hard to cover for their failings. Ultimately they will never get booted out or otherwise penalised in these situations unless /you/ make it obvious that they are failing.