The suppressed opposition that inside managers had of Thoman's push for change was very destructive for the company in the long run. .
Of course Thoman himself was also partly responsible for the communication gap that existed among Xerox management. Thoman was a perfect fit for the CEO position in terms of intellect, experience, and expertise. However, Allaire and other board members overlooked the importance of people skills when they offered him the job. They did not take into consideration whether or not Mr. Thoman would fit comfortably into Xerox's corporate culture. Thoman soon discovered that his distant demeanor and blunt criticism clashed with Xerox's atmosphere of formality. One former employee said: "Xerox is totally political, but it's hidden behind a patina of fake congeniality."" Thoman acknowledged that, "To be successful at Xerox you have to be liked. While everyone likes to be liked, for me, it was more important to get things done."" Thoman received a lot of criticism for this attitude, as many people felt that he was forcing changes that the company was not ready for. Paul Allaire said, "The problem that Rick had was he did not connect well enough with the people to get a good feel of what was going on in the organization and what was and wasn't possible."".
Thoman never got the opportunity to reinvent the Xerox Company in the way that he had intended. Thoman, for example, wanted to fire the company's CFO, Barry Romeril, but Allaire advised him that the board would not approve if he were to do so. Xerox's financial troubles were a clear indication that Romeril was not fulfilling his job requirements, but he was a protected Xerox insider because of his close relationship with Allaire. When Thoman became CEO, Allaire offered senior management executives Barry Romeril and William Buehler positions on the board and gave them both the title of vice-chairman.