As I get older, I'm realizing he's kinda right

He is, but recognition is cheap. Soft skills are underrated. You can praise your workers, it costs nothing and builds loyalty.

One of the great reality checks on Madmen.

He's not right though. This is why she leaves and goes to another firm and he ends up divorced several times.

Don has a very valid point here, and he is not wrong. Nevertheless, I still think he is showing poor leadership. I know CEO's today who think of their employees like Don does, but they create a very negative enviroment.

Sorry, best line ever “That’s what the money is for!” I’ve worked to convince my kids every time they complain about their jobs, “Are you paid well? Yes. Do you have to take your work home with you? No. Do you get a nice bonus every year? Yes. Then stop complaining!”

The thing about folks on here complaining about his response-which is 100% right-is that Peggy was given the opportunity BY HIM when most were stuck in the Secretary Pool Don pushed Peggy, mentored Peggy, promoted Peggy..she would be typing without him. People don't realize they are part of a TEAM..work for THEIR boss, the paycheck is the reward..that is in all cases throughout history. If the company does not make money..neither do you..which is a much bigger problem. Trophies for everyone skewed people's expectations.

@awstar11 As you get older you’ll remove “kinda” from that sentence.

Don is being self-important in this scene. He's keeping Peggy under his thumb although she does good work and Don drinks all day in his office. His retort is just designed to throw Peggy off of reasonably expecting recognition. Don isn't paying Peggy, she works for the firm.

He is. Women are a little delicate. Money is more than enough gratitude.

Only kinda. It depends on what level of performance you expect. Do you want the minimum acceptable? Act like him. Do you want exceptional effort and performance? Say "Thanks" frequently.

He’s absolutely right. Your workplace is not your snuggle bunny. You provide value, you get paid for it.

I mean, don't throw a party, but a basic thank you is just good courtesy. I don't know the show to know if that is what this is about or if it is about more.

Yeah all of us old gen X coders were absolutely eye rolling until her eyes fell out when the next generation started demanding pizza parties and recognition and pats on the back for… building another web form.

He’s not right. He’s displaying poor leadership. He breeds a toxic work environment, and it takes zero money to be kind to your employees. One should guide and not dictate. Hell. Don was a functional alcoholic.

100%. When I managed people my bosses would say 'You need to let the team know they are doing a good job more often.' In my mind they knew they were doing a good job because they remained employed. How much external validation does a grown up need?

Yeah when I was young I thought my life was ruined because I had a shitty entry level job where all the older people treated me like a slave but now I realize had I stuck with it I’d woken up ten years later and been a boss.

Don Draper had no self control, didn’t value his family, and is an anti-type of true masculinity.

Not kinda. Absolutely right

Whether his idea is right is almost beside the point. He has made a valuable employee feel unimportant. He'll have to replace more and others in the real world treating people like this.

the older you get the more you realize the people who seemed harsh were just being honest about how the world actually works. we call it cynicism in our twenties and experience in our thirties

Don Draper was always right. He was the truth our naive mind didn't want to hear.

This is a Rorschach test for each generation. The replies are perfectly in line with expectations.

"you're young, you will get your recognition" He was right about everything except that. Many people will never get recognition, despite how long or well they work.

It may be right, but good leaders/managers know a word of encouragement and affirmation can go a long way, especially with employees wired that way. It's not hard and often yields amazing results relative to the effort required

Mad Men accurately depicts the male mentor who always appears when a talented woman enters a coveted field. Ask any successful woman and you will find a man who supported her ambition, usually a top dog which is why he doesn't feel threatened by her. It's not about diminishing women, they still have to compete, it's about killing the myth of the 'sisterhood of men' aka the glass ceiling. Women group together to obstruct women who take a leader role. Men don't. The glass ceiling is basically the same competition every man knows he must win to get ahead. And they rarely get mentors bc well, they're men, so at some level always competition.

She was a secretary until Don plucked her from the pool, gave her a shot, became her mentor, and fast forwarded her career. She started acting entitled because things weren’t on easy mode for her anymore and Don called her out. She had it coming.

A boss telling to your face that your existence in the office is a transaction and you should thank them every day for the opportunity to complete the transaction is horrendous Yes it is a transaction, no hearing this IRL feels terrible and detached you from the company

He was so real for that one

This series is about a time when this was the norm. If you look at it with today's lens, the joke is on you.

The stuff that sounded like boomer advice at 20 hits different at 30. Not because they were right about everything. But because time reveals what theory cant. Experience is just expensive education.

This is boomerism captured in one scene. At this point Don basically does zero work, just drinks and naps all day at the office. Yet he makes all the money off of the employees he gets ideas off of. And is a total dick about it. Then always talking about how hard he works. LOL

@OriginalRoddick Kinda? Absolutely right. One of the best series ever created.

>equivocates and takes undue credit of intellectual property for money "he's kinda right 🤪"

The entire point of this scene is that they are both right and wrong. It is Peggy's job, she didn't do a favor for Don and thus reward is her paycheck. An atmosphere where everyone treats daily work as above and beyond is not healthy. On the flip side, recognition is critical to a healthy functioning team. It doesn't cost anything, however it also shouldn't be a give in.

That's the brilliance of the scene, He's right while being an asshole about it. Kind of like telling your friend who 300lbs he's a disgusting fat fuck.