Are Cheaters Better Managers? A Controversial Perspective on Leveraging Resources

Could school cheaters have an edge in management? Examining how leveraging resources and collaboration—once frowned upon—can drive success in business.

This article was originally published in 2016, and has been updated in 2025.

The idea hit me like a bolt of lightning during a recent moment of reflection. It’s a dangerous pastime, I know, but it got me thinking: Could people who cheated in school actually make better managers in the professional world?

Now, before you grab your pitchforks, hear me out. We all know that climbing the ladder of success—whether in school or at work—is no easy feat. It’s not just about hard work; it’s about navigating the socio-political game that demands time, energy, and strategy.

Back in my school days, I rarely cheated. I prided myself on putting in the effort, doing the work, and earning my results. But what about those who didn’t? The ones who copied term papers or snuck answers from a friend? They often ended up with the same grade as I did but without investing nearly as much time or energy.

Yes, competence matters. Pretending to know something you don’t will eventually catch up to you. But let’s set that aside for a moment and focus on something else—the skill behind the act of cheating itself.

The Hidden Skill: Leveraging Resources for Maximum Impact

Cheaters—whether we like it or not—are resourceful. They find ways to achieve their goals by leveraging external knowledge and capabilities. They identify shortcuts, delegate tasks (ethically questionable as they may be), and free up their time for other pursuits.

In my previous post, Execution is Everything, I emphasized the importance of acting on ideas to achieve success. But here’s the catch: How many ideas can one person execute at once? The answer is limited—unless you learn to scale your efforts by tapping into others’ expertise.

Let’s go back to the classroom example. While I spent hours studying for a passing grade, our hypothetical “cheater” spent a fraction of that time finding answers or outsourcing their assignments. Now imagine if they used that freed-up time not for leisure but for something productive—like launching a side hustle or mastering another subject entirely. By leveraging resources effectively, they gained an edge—and faster results—over those grinding away solo.

Collaboration: The Business World’s "Cheating"

Here’s where things get interesting: The same principle applies in business, but we call it something else—collaboration. Successful leaders know they can’t do everything alone. They build teams, delegate tasks, and harness collective expertise to achieve goals more efficiently than they could on their own.

Think about it this way: What if you had a group of students tackling an impossibly difficult curriculum? Instead of each person struggling through every subject alone, each member could specialize in one topic and share their knowledge with the team. Together, they’d succeed across all subjects while individually mastering only a fraction of the material.

This approach mirrors how high-performing organizations operate. Teams divide responsibilities based on strengths, rely on one another’s expertise, and collectively move forward faster than any single individual could.

The Takeaway: Learning to Leverage

The lesson here isn’t to endorse dishonesty—it’s to recognize the value of resourcefulness and collaboration as critical skills for success. Unfortunately, these skills are often overlooked in traditional education systems that prioritize individual achievement over teamwork.

In the real world, no one expects you to have all the answers or do everything yourself. What sets great leaders apart is their ability to form strong teams, delegate effectively, and leverage collective intelligence to achieve ambitious goals.

So maybe there’s something we can learn from those “cheaters” after all—not their methods but their mindset. By embracing collaboration as a cornerstone of success, we can unlock new levels of productivity and innovation in our professional lives. Every great idea starts somewhere—even if it seems unconventional at first glance. So let’s rethink how we view resourcefulness and collaboration—not as shortcuts but as essential tools for thriving in today’s complex world.

Interdependent people combine their own efforts, with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success.

-Stephen Covey