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There's a certain workaholic personality that excels at executive-level positions. I'm convinced they simply have better genetics than the rest of us -- after 1

by exelius 10y ago

There's a certain workaholic personality that excels at executive-level positions. I'm convinced they simply have better genetics than the rest of us -- after 10 or so hours of work, my memory is garbage and I wouldn't feel confident dealing with anything important but some people are totally fine. Plus, you couldn't work that hard for any amount of money unless you loved the work. I'm not sure I want to be a CEO for that reason -- I treasure the ability to turn off 'work mode' for a little while every day.

GuiA 10y ago
I work with high level executives at a well known company regularly. Most of them are normal people. Hard working, smarter than the average? Sure. Answering emails at 1am on a Sunday with a newborn? Certainly not. In fact, my director just took a month off when his second child was born, and is taking another month off soon. There is no "better genetics" or "sleeping 4 hours a night". That's just the media and tech echo chamber doing its thing.
- exelius 10y ago
  I work with major company C-suite guys on a regular basis, and while not everyone is the "4 hours a night" type, they're definitely overrepresented. Keep in mind I don't see this as a positive thing -- I think it's unhealthy and sets a bad example for your employees. But there are some people who just have more stamina, and that's something I've had to accept. I have less stamina, so I need to be more effective with the time that I do have and delegate work to others.
- twblalock 10y ago
  There are reasons to believe that there are people who have a genetic characteristic that enables them to get by on that little sleep. This is a link to the study referenced in the parent post's BBC article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2884988/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2884988/ Furthermore, human genetic variation being what it is, there is no reason to dismiss "better genetics" in general. There are many genetic differences that make people better or worse than others at performing certain tasks. Some are obvious, some less so. But its certainly plausible that they exist, and dismissing them as part of an "echo chamber" is unjustified.
treehau5 10y ago
Being a high level executive does not require the type of Deep Thought that being a software engineer requires. Not to say that CEO's and such are all shallow thinkers, but they have to respond to multiple streams of information at all times (Which is why I think women make great CEO's, there are many studies that show women are better multi-taskers). * This is also articulated well in the book "Deep Thought"
arcticfox 10y ago
This may be true, but I don't think Mayer is a great example of excelling. Maybe if she had a different approach than answering random emails in the middle of the night, her tenure wouldn't have gone like it did.
rogerbinns 10y ago
Note that they are also doing a different kind of work. Paul Graham's essay on Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule - http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html - is a good highlight of the differences. (It covers what both sides take to get into the "zone" etc.)
angry-hacker 10y ago
Trust me, at that level there are many things that help you artificially. It exists at lower levels too, of course.
jgalt212 10y ago
> There's a certain workaholic personality that excels at executive-level positions Except that Marissa didn't excel.
nostrademons 10y ago
Mayer reportedly has the gene that lets you get by on 4 hours of sleep a night: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150706-the-woman-who-barely-sleeps http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150706-the-woman-who-barel... http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-barely-sleep-2012-9?op=1 http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-barely-...

by exelius 10y ago

GuiA 10y ago

I work with high level executives at a well known company regularly. Most of them are normal people. Hard working, smarter than the average? Sure. Answering emails at 1am on a Sunday with a newborn? Certainly not. In fact, my director just took a month off when his second child was born, and is taking another month off soon. There is no "better genetics" or "sleeping 4 hours a night". That's just the media and tech echo chamber doing its thing.

exelius 10y ago
I work with major company C-suite guys on a regular basis, and while not everyone is the "4 hours a night" type, they're definitely overrepresented. Keep in mind I don't see this as a positive thing -- I think it's unhealthy and sets a bad example for your employees. But there are some people who just have more stamina, and that's something I've had to accept. I have less stamina, so I need to be more effective with the time that I do have and delegate work to others.
twblalock 10y ago
There are reasons to believe that there are people who have a genetic characteristic that enables them to get by on that little sleep. This is a link to the study referenced in the parent post's BBC article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2884988/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2884988/ Furthermore, human genetic variation being what it is, there is no reason to dismiss "better genetics" in general. There are many genetic differences that make people better or worse than others at performing certain tasks. Some are obvious, some less so. But its certainly plausible that they exist, and dismissing them as part of an "echo chamber" is unjustified.

treehau5 10y ago

Being a high level executive does not require the type of Deep Thought that being a software engineer requires. Not to say that CEO's and such are all shallow thinkers, but they have to respond to multiple streams of information at all times (Which is why I think women make great CEO's, there are many studies that show women are better multi-taskers). * This is also articulated well in the book "Deep Thought"

arcticfox 10y ago

This may be true, but I don't think Mayer is a great example of excelling. Maybe if she had a different approach than answering random emails in the middle of the night, her tenure wouldn't have gone like it did.

rogerbinns 10y ago

Note that they are also doing a different kind of work. Paul Graham's essay on Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule - http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html - is a good highlight of the differences. (It covers what both sides take to get into the "zone" etc.)

angry-hacker 10y ago

Trust me, at that level there are many things that help you artificially. It exists at lower levels too, of course.

jgalt212 10y ago

> There's a certain workaholic personality that excels at executive-level positions Except that Marissa didn't excel.

nostrademons 10y ago

Mayer reportedly has the gene that lets you get by on 4 hours of sleep a night: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150706-the-woman-who-barely-sleeps http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150706-the-woman-who-barel... http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-barely-sleep-2012-9?op=1 http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-barely-...