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The majority of Einsatzgruppen (SS) officers had PhDs. Anecdotes aside, I used to think this way until I realized that being a leader is about a lot more than

The majority of Einsatzgruppen (SS) officers had PhDs. Anecdotes aside, I used to think this way until I realized that being a leader is about a lot more than raw intelligence. The best leaders (business, political or otherwise) have a unique mental resolve that is a lot stronger than the rest of us. They need to be able to thrive in chaos and stay motivated when everything is falling apart. I arrived at this conclusion after years of looking at various CEOs and scoffing at how easily I could do the job--just make arbitrary decisions, take credit when they work and deflect when they don't, right? It wasn't until I worked for a company that was teetering on failure that I realized there was more to it. While I would have felt completely overwhelmed, frustrated and defeated, this CEO somehow managed to stay positive and kept fighting for years until the business was in the clear.

striking 10y ago
godwin
jude- 10y ago
> The majority of Einsatzgruppen (SS) officers had PhDs. Citation needed, or is this an alternative fact?
- JumpCrisscross 10y ago
  I think asking for a citation was fine. Framing OP's statement as an "alternative fact," without evidence, caused me to downvote.
- cloakandswagger 10y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatzgruppen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatzgruppen >Many Einsatzgruppe leaders were highly educated; for example, nine of seventeen leaders of Einsatzgruppe A held doctorate degrees.[42] Three Einsatzgruppen were commanded by holders of doctorates, one of whom (SS-Gruppenführer Otto Rasch) held a double doctorate.[43] So perhaps I was wrong to say majority, but a good portion. As an aside, what a bizarre thing to nitpick. Why does this fact bother you?
  - hollerith 10y ago
    >As an aside, what a bizarre thing to nitpick. Why does this fact bother you? I see no reason to get nasty.
    - CydeWeys 10y ago
      You accused him of intentionally lying. It's no surprise that he didn't respond well to that. You could've just said "I haven't heard that before; do you have a source?"
      - hollerith 10y ago
        OK. Sorry I got involved in this thread. Note that I can no longer delete my comment. >You accused him of intentionally lying. I'm not the author of that comment.
  - cloakandswagger 10y ago
    Hollerith, he didn't just ask for a source, he implied it was an "alternative fact" which is a political attack
    - hollerith 10y ago
      OK, but GP doesn't criticize him for that. It implies he's nitpicking, acting bizarrely and bothered by trivialities.
Mathnerd314 10y ago
I'd say it's more about having generic transferable skills; a PhD might know a lot about their subject area (e.g. a biologist skilled in evolution), but won't necessarily apply that knowledge to other areas of life (e.g., same biologist is a practicing Creationist). Perhaps the SS officers were chosen for exactly this kind of blind spot. IMO the major qualification for any CEO is people skills, since most of the job consists of meetings and negotiations as opposed to any technical pursuit. And if this thread is secretly about Trump, it's hard to argue that he doesn't have people skills: http://archive.vcstar.com/opinion/columnists/ruben-navarrette-the-limits-of-trumps-people-skills-321cc892-7c35-3e61-e053-0100007f7e8d-378894601.html http://archive.vcstar.com/opinion/columnists/ruben-navarrett...
refurb 10y ago
This is really true. After working my way up in a mid-sized organization, I've learned being a CEO is hard and really easy to screw up. As you mentioned it's about motivating people when they all want to go in a different direction. And it's not about saying "do this". That doesn't work. It's about convincing them it's the right path forward.

striking 10y ago

godwin

jude- 10y ago

> The majority of Einsatzgruppen (SS) officers had PhDs. Citation needed, or is this an alternative fact?

JumpCrisscross 10y ago
I think asking for a citation was fine. Framing OP's statement as an "alternative fact," without evidence, caused me to downvote.
cloakandswagger 10y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatzgruppen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatzgruppen >Many Einsatzgruppe leaders were highly educated; for example, nine of seventeen leaders of Einsatzgruppe A held doctorate degrees.[42] Three Einsatzgruppen were commanded by holders of doctorates, one of whom (SS-Gruppenführer Otto Rasch) held a double doctorate.[43] So perhaps I was wrong to say majority, but a good portion. As an aside, what a bizarre thing to nitpick. Why does this fact bother you?
- hollerith 10y ago
  >As an aside, what a bizarre thing to nitpick. Why does this fact bother you? I see no reason to get nasty.
  - CydeWeys 10y ago
    You accused him of intentionally lying. It's no surprise that he didn't respond well to that. You could've just said "I haven't heard that before; do you have a source?"
    - hollerith 10y ago
      OK. Sorry I got involved in this thread. Note that I can no longer delete my comment. >You accused him of intentionally lying. I'm not the author of that comment.
- cloakandswagger 10y ago
  Hollerith, he didn't just ask for a source, he implied it was an "alternative fact" which is a political attack
  - hollerith 10y ago
    OK, but GP doesn't criticize him for that. It implies he's nitpicking, acting bizarrely and bothered by trivialities.

Mathnerd314 10y ago

I'd say it's more about having generic transferable skills; a PhD might know a lot about their subject area (e.g. a biologist skilled in evolution), but won't necessarily apply that knowledge to other areas of life (e.g., same biologist is a practicing Creationist). Perhaps the SS officers were chosen for exactly this kind of blind spot. IMO the major qualification for any CEO is people skills, since most of the job consists of meetings and negotiations as opposed to any technical pursuit. And if this thread is secretly about Trump, it's hard to argue that he doesn't have people skills: http://archive.vcstar.com/opinion/columnists/ruben-navarrette-the-limits-of-trumps-people-skills-321cc892-7c35-3e61-e053-0100007f7e8d-378894601.html http://archive.vcstar.com/opinion/columnists/ruben-navarrett...

refurb 10y ago

This is really true. After working my way up in a mid-sized organization, I've learned being a CEO is hard and really easy to screw up. As you mentioned it's about motivating people when they all want to go in a different direction. And it's not about saying "do this". That doesn't work. It's about convincing them it's the right path forward.