Row well, and live
This was, arguably, one of the most egregious examples of bad professional management I can ever remember.
The company I was working for had just gone through a round of very traumatic layoffs. People who had worked there for years suddenly found themselves without work and jobs -- those that remained grimly realized that unless they were able to turn the business around, they wouldn't be far behind.
It was then that the boss at the time gathered us into a conference room to talk about our next step. And to open the meeting, he quoted Quintus Arrius from Ben-Hur:
Now listen to me, all of you: You are all condemned men. We keep you alive to serve this ship. So row well, and live.
This is apropos of absolutely nothing, for what it's worth. Just one of those anecdotes that makes me chuckle as I look back upon it now, but at the time made me want to throw up.
Why is it that the bad lessons are always the ones that stick with you?