It's much easier to simply find a better job without a John, or where you're shielded from John.
(My name breaks this analogy a bit.)
a) It's hard to identify a good manager ahead of time.
b) People change; circumstances change.
c) Your team and manager will change sooner than you expect, especially if they are a good team or manager.
Who stays anywhere more than 2-3 years now anyway?
My current manager where I work is pretty cool. We get along pretty well, and I don't mind working for them. However, I think my manager's manager is...umm, well, let's just say "not very good at their job", fairly close to the "John" in this story.
If my current manager quit or was fired or died, and I had to work for their manager, I probably would quit before I learned to effectively work with "John"; the job market is pretty good for engineers right now, why the hell not?