Jo Bennett Vs. Robert California: Who Was The Better CEO On The Office?
When The Office's Dunder Mifflin suffers financial issues, they're bought by a printing company called Sabre. With David Wallace no longer the CEO, Jo Bennett took his place for season 6 and . 7. However, with a change in management, the Scranton branch hired Robert California as the new branch manager. But after one look around the office, California convinced Jo to step down and make him the CEO. Robert lasted as CEO for season 7 and 8 before David Wallace came back around and bought the company back from Saber.
Both Jo Bennett and Robert California were very involved with the Scranton branch and both wanted the company to succeed, but they were vastly different companies when each was in charge. So, who was better?
10 Jo: She Wanted To Promote From Within
When Dunder Mifflin was bought out by Sabre, Jo came to Scranton to meet the branch and totally shifted the way things were. She hated the fact that Michael and Jim were co-managers because the job could have easily been run by one person. She later saw the good in Scranton's employees by getting to know them. She loved Darryl's marketing ideas and moved him from the warehouse up into the office.
When it came time to find a new manager after DeAngelo left, Jo hired from within. She at first wanted Jim to take the regional manager role but when he turned it down, it was handed to Dwight. When Dwight messed it up, Jo gave the position to Creed before finally offering it to Andy.
9 Robert: His Notebook
When Robert becomes CEO and begins spending time in Scranton, Pam found his notebook that he left open. On the page were all the workers divided into two sections. No one knew what the sections meant and it turned the office upside down.
When Andy confronted Robert, he told Andy it was a way for him to release energy instead of doodling. But viewers clearly know that wasn't true because he switched Andy to the other side of the list mid-conversation. His "doodle" showed that he was taking inventory of his employees and paying close attention to the "winners" and "losers" of the office.
8 Jo: She Kept Things Professional
As intelligent and electric as Robert was, Jo was far more professional. As soon as Sabre took over the branch, she had Nick the "IT guy" come and download blockers on their computers and she hired Gabe as her second pair of eyes to watch over things when she wasn't able to. And as odd as Gabe was, he did the best he could.
Jo was on the ball, always having a plan and an expectation. She was able to offer the structure that Scranton so desperately needed; something that Robert wasn't able to. He mentioned sex far too much to ever keep things fully professional.
7 Robert: He Didn't Want To Mix Business With Family
As overly sexual as Robert can be, it was surprisingly proficient of him to not mix business with family when his wife wanted to work for the Scranton branch. It was particularly odd that his wife wanted to work for a place like Sabre but she could have wanted the opportunity just to be closer to her husband.
Robert, on the other hand, wasn't entertaining the idea at all and forced Andy not to hire his wife. By the end of the episode, his wife found out Robert didn't want her working for him and later filed for divorce. As weird as his conversations with Andy and his wife were, this was a strong move on Robert's part.
6 Jo: Her "Print In All Colors" Initiative
Sabre's "Print in All Colors" initiative is defined as "Sabre recruits, hires, trains, and promotes without regard to race, skin tone, gender, age, religion, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or surgical history."
This was a way to be inclusive and promote diversity from within the company. Kelly and Darryl both applied for the initiative but Kelly ultimately won the bid. Kelly wasn't a shy person and showed off her new unconventional managerial ways with pride.
5 Robert: He Tried To Implement A Sabre Retail Store
After Robert took the CEO position from Jo, he spent a few weeks in Tallahassee to grab control of the company before returning back to Scranton. He invited a few background workers of Scranton's branch to Tallahassee for a new special project: a Sabre retail store. He hired Dwight as his point of contact who later created his Tallahassee team. As the new CEO, Robert thought outside of the box and wanted Sabre to have a store similar to Apple's. He wanted innovation and for the employees to be hands-on.
4 Jo: She Protected The Office From Dwight
After DeAngelo went to the hospital and left the company, Dwight was the next regional manager after Jim turned it down. Dwight happily took the title but, as always, it went to his head. For whatever reason, Dwight wanted the office to be intimidated by him. He started carrying a gun and accidentally shot a bullet by Andy's head, causing temporary deafness. It was a serious incident that could have had a fatal outcome. Jo did the right thing in demoting Dwight and hiring someone new. If Michael were still around, it's highly doubtful he would have handled the situation correctly.
3 Robert: He Held His Workers Accountable
This is not to say that Jo didn't hold her workers accountable because she did. But in the episode "Doomsday," Robert noticed a situation that could have easily gone unnoticed — because similar errors have occurred in the past — and ordered Andy to handle the error so it doesn't happen again. Although Dwight created a system that could have had most of the office fired, Robert did the right thing to apply pressure to those for their mistakes.
2 Jo: She Listened To Her Employees
Jo wasn't just a great CEO, she was also a great pal and a fantastic listener. She had this maternal way about her that made her employees feel comfortable around her. At the same time, she also had the ability to snap the office back into place when they're out of line. A great example of this is when she told Michael he was welcome at her home any time but when he bought a plane ticket for July Fourth weekend without running it by her, she quickly put a stop to it. But when Michael was depressed over Holly, Jo was really there for him and brought her back when HR was needed.
1 Robert: His Drive Inspired Others
Robert California's intensity was both intimidating and inspiring. He knew what he wanted, he was direct, and he always succeeded. As a man of "great confidence," as Jim said, he convinced Jo to hand her job over to him.
When he was being interviewed for the regional manager position, the committee party found him to be over-qualified. It was because of his background and his small lectures that made the office a slightly more productive place.
Overall, it's tough to compare two CEOs who are completely different but by the looks of it, Jo outweighed Robert California based on her experience and professionalism.