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The most obvious pleiotrope that I can think of associated with startups (possibly all businesses) is that CEOs tend to be, putting it bluntly, jerks. The same

by seldo 17y ago

The most obvious pleiotrope that I can think of associated with startups (possibly all businesses) is that CEOs tend to be, putting it bluntly, jerks. The same qualities that make for a successful CEO -- ruthlessness, tenacity, the ability to play fast-and-loose with the facts when necessary -- also make for the kind of person you don't want to hang around with much. The better CEOs I've seen are able to compartmentalize this ability: they can be likeable, loyal friends, and restrict their ruthlessness to their business relationships. In the close-knit startup world, where the lines between business partners and friends blur, this is less practical. I'm not saying I would change this -- I need a CEO who is ruthless -- but the side-effects are unfortunate.

Brushfire 17y ago
I disagree. There are those people out there, and some of them are successful, but I dont believe that being a jerk makes you successful, and while I dont have any hard data on this, I do know a number of highly successful business owners who are also decent human beings. It turns out, if your model makes sense, you are selling things to people that they want, and they like you for it. There is no need to be ruthless in these types of scenarios, just effective. Look at Zappos. It may be true that 'Jerks' get ahead many times because they are willing to cut throats to do so, but that doesnt mean that you need to be a jerk to succeed, especially if you learn to define success a little differently.
andymism 17y ago
> The better CEOs I've seen are able to compartmentalize this ability: they can be likeable, loyal friends, and restrict their ruthlessness to their business relationships. I've been thinking about an idea in this vein a lot recently due to a less than ideal business transaction. It seems to me that the idea of a ruthless CEO is a myth constructed and put up on a pedestal by a largely male business community (combative/competitive instincts, right?). A successful business person need not be ruthless in the strict dictionary definition. What they need to be is persistent in pursuing their own economic goals or those of their organization. From the outside, this might look like ruthlessness, especially in a transaction between friends, but experience has shown me that applying social norms to a situation where market norms should rule can end badly.

by seldo 17y ago

Brushfire 17y ago

I disagree. There are those people out there, and some of them are successful, but I dont believe that being a jerk makes you successful, and while I dont have any hard data on this, I do know a number of highly successful business owners who are also decent human beings. It turns out, if your model makes sense, you are selling things to people that they want, and they like you for it. There is no need to be ruthless in these types of scenarios, just effective. Look at Zappos. It may be true that 'Jerks' get ahead many times because they are willing to cut throats to do so, but that doesnt mean that you need to be a jerk to succeed, especially if you learn to define success a little differently.

andymism 17y ago

> The better CEOs I've seen are able to compartmentalize this ability: they can be likeable, loyal friends, and restrict their ruthlessness to their business relationships. I've been thinking about an idea in this vein a lot recently due to a less than ideal business transaction. It seems to me that the idea of a ruthless CEO is a myth constructed and put up on a pedestal by a largely male business community (combative/competitive instincts, right?). A successful business person need not be ruthless in the strict dictionary definition. What they need to be is persistent in pursuing their own economic goals or those of their organization. From the outside, this might look like ruthlessness, especially in a transaction between friends, but experience has shown me that applying social norms to a situation where market norms should rule can end badly.