Based on this vignette I have to believe that Goofus would have the upper hand. However there is something to be said for being more collaborationist.
Would Goofus’ type “A” steam roller tactics win the day or would Gallant’s empowering approach work better? There’s no question Gallant is a nicer person, but would he be a more effective boss in the long run?
The Goofus and Gallant things were always one-sided. Certainly, some business types have great success being ruthless and crushing the opposition, or even ordering their subordinates around. More lasting businesses tend to work with their partners and clients, and foster a “we’re all in this together” environment.
I also think that some situations call for a Type-A strong leader, and some call for softer leadership - neither is right 100% of the time.
The Goofuses of the world tend to be either very successful or very unsuccessful. Given the right circumstances, and just enough intelligence and charm, Goofus can ride over a hundred Gallants to the top. But, he can equally well end up homeless or in prison.
Gallant is more likely to end up in the middle. People will tolerate a dumb, incompetent Gallant. They won’t tolerate a dumb, incompetent Goofus.
Gallant was always so friendly, and sharing, and kind. Always.
I never trusted the little sociopath.
He will grow up, be very successful, and eventually become the President.
Would the correct plural of Goofus be Goofi?
The modern Goofus and Gallant aren’t at all the same Goofus and Gallant as they were in the 1960’s. At least as I remember them.
Goofus is just a jerk, plain and simple. (That much was always true.) And as all experienced Dopers know:
(a) We get plenty of threads here, with Dopers complaining about their jerk bosses. So it seems there are a fair number of Bosses Goofi who seem to be successful bosses – “Successful” being defined as “somehow managing to not get their asses fired”, not necessarily that they are any good. I’ve yet to understand how they manage that. I’ve had one or two myself.
(b) But we have a rule here on SDMB about what happens to jerks, around here at least. We know exactly what would happen to the Goofi, being the jerks that they are, around here. If only that were more universally true in the Biz world too!
Neither. Goofus is a moron that could barely handle the cash register at McDonalds. Gallant will just get run roughshod over because he’s a doormat.
From what I remember, Goofus is lazy. That is often a deadly sin in business (especially since he doesn’t make any effort to cover this up, IIRC).
Isn’t Gallant actually a plant? That’s what I always assumed. And Goofus is just developmentally disabled, so it’s not really his fault.
No, it’s fourth declension, not second.
Yip. I’d actually consider laziness his primary fault, but what kills him in business is what I bolded. He seemed to never learn even the basics so that he could cover up his problems. While businesses may promote jerks, these jerks have to be able to at least seem like decent people around their bosses.
I agree that Gallant would probably be too worried about being nice to everyone to move too far ahead, but he’d still make it farther than Goofus. Plus Gallant seems to have the ability to learn from his mistakes, so he might go even further.
Irrelevant side-story:
When I first read Highlights, way back when, I mis-read Goofus as Galoofus, which I through was pronounced Ga-LOOF-us. And I didn’t know the word Gallant, so I pronounced that as Ga-LANT.
Ga-LOOF-us and Ga-LANT. I read those for years before I ever noticed that it was Goofus, not Galoofus.
Can we agree that the mother who constantly compares one to the other is an evil psychotic witch who will drive them both into years of therapy?
Couldn’t find a good picture of the current art on line, but Goofus and Gallant are now essentially the same boy. Goofus just needs to comb his hair. I remember reading a few years ago that the magazine wanted to get across the idea that sometimes we all act like Goofus, sometimes like Gallant. Under this section, children send in comments like “I felt like Gallant when I shared my cupcake” and “I felt like Goofus when I didn’t do my homework”, or whatever.
Niether. The lower cartoon is clearly an apples to oranges comparison. I’d fire them both for being a part of that.