Funny enough, that statement would have won points with me. The first time I heard that phrase was in "Soul of a New Machine", and it would have been a good ice breaker :). That being said... definitely not something I would personally drop in an interview.

Edit: also, there's a final piece of that that's critical:

> Tom West practices the "Mushroom Theory of Management" – "keeping them in the dark, feeding them shit, and watch them grow."

Many companies stop after the first two parts and miss the third.

So the answer was yes?

TBF I interviewed companies where floors were mildy dark, people packed, and the air moisty.

That was just not a place to keep workers 8 hours a day. If I was more witty I’d precisely ask that question at the end of the interview.

Either he's socially handicapped, or the company really needs to improve it's working environment.

Fifty fifty really.