What is it about rich, successful guys that make them think they can say or do anything without questions or repercussions? And on top of that, why, as I’ve rhetorically asked in the past, do people who have great success in one aspect of business (or life) believe that they automatically will have success in another?

I’ve been thinking about these questions a lot while watching the actions of Sam Zell, the real estate billionaire who recently became a media magnate when he bought the Tribune Co. Tribune has been a troubled company, and Zell bought it at a fire-sale price. He seemed confident he could fix it, but as anyone who follows the struggles that print-oriented media companies have been having, fixing what is wrong with newspapers is much easier said than done.

Zell didn’t become successful and rich by being a shrinking violet or keeping his mouth shut, but still, people have recently been surprised, amused and amazed by what comes out of his mouth.

Some might call it refreshing, frank and forthright. Others, however, might say it’s sexist, boorish and inappropriate. More important, it has caused great grief for the people in authority who work for Sam Zell who have to clean up after the verbal mess he makes.

All of this raises an interesting question for managers and executives: Just what do you tell your workers when you have an owner or top boss like Sam Zell who frequently says things that would get most other employees reprimanded or fired? At the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune paper, senior managers went so far as to send out a memo saying that despite what Sam Zell says (or how he says it) “the fundamental rules of decorum and decency apply.” The memo went on to add, “Sam is a force of a nature; the rest of us are bound by the normal conventions of society.”

I understand forces of nature. What I don’t get are guys who get to the top who think that rules are something for everyone except them. And if you work for a guy like this? Well, you only have two options: grin and bear it as you put up with the rantings, or find another job where the top boss has a more reasonable way with words.