Latching On To The Wrong Part of an Idea

A small businessman has read about W. Edwards Deming and really enjoyed the idea that he was a self-proclaimed "insultant." The idea of being disruptively critical appeals to this businessman so much that he uses a brusque, arrogant approach to his clients, basically implying that they are not very bright if they don't use his services. Now Deming was an innovator and was certainly disruptively innovative, but the idea that "being insulting" was somehow his most important achievement really misses the boat.