𝙂𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙂𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙨 : 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The Glengarry Glen Ross look: Angry stares, bad suits, hands on hips

Have you ever watched the 1992 cinematic classic Glengarry Glen Ross? If not, you’re missing out on one of the most intense and brutal takedowns of the modern workplace. While the homogenous casting dates it a bit, the film—based on David Mamet’s play—offers a high-octane drama populated by Hollywood heavyweights who greedily chew up the scenery.

The setting is a sleazy New York real estate sales office, where a group of amoral hucksters hustle to close deals and keep their jobs. They work off leads—the contact information of potential clients—and are expected to ruthlessly pitch shady investment properties through cold calls. They rely on their wits, guts, and ingenuity. The fierce office culture turns dog-eat-dog when they learn that only the top two “closers” will keep their jobs at the end of the month.

The movie offers a blistering critique of toxic masculinity, and we witness the corrupting influence of an environment that rewards unethical behavior. These men—and they’re all men—are nothing more than grifters with real estate licenses—horrible people rendered all the more despicable by the relentless pressure from management.

Ultimately, though, the movie is a study of the modern workplace and its abuses. Mamet creates a sort of closed box for the characters to operate in, which may seem artificial, but is it really so different than most workplace cultures? The television show Severance takes this closed-box workplace idea to its extreme, presenting characters whose work life is surgically sealed off from their home life. Even when we use the common phrase “work-life balance,” we implicitly portray the workplace as a closed box, treating work as utterly separate—severed, if you will—from life. In doing so, we raise expectations for our non-work life at the expense of our expectations for work, which can never be as satisfying. In short, our mindset itself is unbalanced when we use that popular phrase. It’s actually quite insidious, as Severance suggests.

In Glengarry Glen Ross, all we see is the work, and sordid work it is. One of the most memorable scenes features a young, foul-mouthed Alec Baldwin as a motivational speaker sent by the front office. He berates the salesmen, humiliating them in a profanity-laced tirade that can be summed up in four words: “Coffee is for closers.” This vicious affront masquerading as inspiration only heightens the salesmen’s torment and ensures a tragic outcome.

The human element is injected by the revelation that one of the salesmen, Shelley—brilliantly played by Jack Lemmon—has a daughter in the hospital. The heartlessness of his situation, the fundamental inhumanity, seems too grotesque to be true. But it’s the stark reality of millions whose employers see them only as “resources” ripe for exploitation.

The toxicity of this particular sales office is off the charts, but I’ve personally witnessed work environments nearly as bad. The corruption and short-term thinking of those at the top cause those below to become anxious and desperate. The ones who ostensibly succeed at this contemptible game are the ones who emulate or enable their noxious overlords. Everyone else either knuckles under or is ultimately cast aside. I explored this topic in depth in How People Sort Themselves under a Bad Boss.

How People Sort Themselves under a Bad Boss

Glengarry Glen Ross? No, Glengarry Good Boss

Now let’s imagine what this real estate sales office would look like if it were run by competent, ethical leadership. Of course, it probably wouldn’t even exist in this form since no decent, values-forward leader would ever get caught up in a scheme to sell crappy properties to gullible marks. But let’s pretend, for the sake of argument, that the land they’re selling is actually desirable and reasonably priced.

In this reboot, the firm’s management would be genuinely concerned with the wellbeing of both the salesmen and their customers. No one would be forced to make an untoward sale, and no customer would be tricked or coerced into a reckless purchase. The office manager would strive to maximize the sales potential of his team by treating the good leads not as rewards but as resources to be leveraged for cooperation and collaboration, not cutthroat competition.

The top seller, Tony Roma (played by Al Pacino) would still be a formidable force, but his restless nature and gift of gab would be channeled toward inspiring and encouraging his colleagues, not lording it over them. Instead of conning leads who neither want nor can afford what he's selling, he'd be a shining example of what's possible when you combine skill, passion, and a genuine desire to serve the customer.

His fellow salesmen would function as a true team, working together toward the twin goals of happy customers and higher profits. They’d share leads, assist each other in sales, and take pride in their collective success. And poor Shelley, the salesman with the daughter in the hospital, would have decent health insurance to cover her care and a sympathetic manager to cover his hospital visits.

When that motivational speaker from the front office appears, instead of threats and vulgarities, he’d deploy ideas and shared values that truly inspire, teaching the team to build on their strengths. After all, they made it this far somehow. What got them here, and how can it move them further?

And what about the customers? They’d be content, even happy, with their investment. They’d feel satisfied and taken care of, rather than humiliated and taken advantage of. They might even return to invest more and would be persuaded to encourage friends and family to trust this reputable firm as well. That’s right, no more salesmen cold-calling leads at night, pressuring clients to make a hasty investment decision with longterm consequences.

Of course, this happy scenario has a fatal flaw: It would make for a dreadful movie. The drama of the real film is in the intensity and raw emotion of its frantic characters, the ferocious competition, and the calamitous downfall. A kinder, gentler workplace, such as the one I described, just wouldn’t have the same visceral impact on the screen.

There is another flaw in my happy workplace, though. It comes across as contrived and pie in the sky even, which is the real tragedy. We can more readily accept the over-the-top viciousness of Glengarry Glen Ross than its opposite. Toxicity is expected, normal even. But why can’t a more collaborative, respectful, and ethical workplace be the norm? The very fact that my reimagined version of Glengarry Glen Ross—call it Glengarry Good Boss—feels so unsatisfying and unrealistic is a testament to how far we still have to go.

I encourage you to watch the film less as a commentary on masculine corruption and more as a workplace drama—a critique of modern office culture. Great leadership committed to treating people as human beings, not just "resources" or “marks,” would transform this sales office and likely boost sales in the long run. It might not make the best cinema, but such a norm surely would be a welcome change in the real world.

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How often have you encountered toxic work environments? What could have been accomplished if such toxic workplaces were healthy instead?

Great leaders must understand how to recognize and actively eliminate the toxic elements of their work culture, and I can help.

Unlock the Great Leader Within! Download my free resource, the Transform To GREATness Toolkit, now!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Intro and outro podcast theme music by LiteSaturation from Pixabay.

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• Speaker’s Page

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𝙅𝙞𝙢 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙫𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙞, 𝙋𝙝.𝘿., 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 30 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘏𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘴. 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.