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It's high time people realize something about these positions. Being at the top of a gigantic mature hierarchy in a complex world is more a function of legacy t
by nicko9 9y ago
It's high time people realize something about these positions. Being at the top of a gigantic mature hierarchy in a complex world is more a function of legacy than utility. John D Rockefeller or Thomas Edison were the single BRAIN that shaped and directed where their orgs went. Today's leaders in govt or in the private sector or more like a single neuron most of whose time is engaged in constant power struggles for survival. Nobody with any real sense wants to be sitting in these chairs other than the mindlessly ambitious. CEO's are propped up. Cause we are still hardwired to believe in kings, popes and heroes taming complexity we can not handle.
With data flowing in like never before on the utility of these roles it will get increasingly and unavoidably clear in the next few years on the over importance we attach to "leadership". We are not on the Serengeti plains anymore.
- chrisco255 9y agoLeadership is a thing. It really matters. An effective leader can be a force multiplier for everyone in the organization that reports to them, directly or indirectly. An ineffective leader can literally bankrupt an organization.
- amrrs 9y agoNo one could forget the force of Steve Jobs that brought back Apple and that ambitious Travis Kalanick who built Uber empire.
- ianamartin 9y agoI would replace Kalanick with Bill Gates in this idea. Kalanick is a dickhead who lasted a few years before getting busted for it. Both Jobs and Gates really built shit for a very long time. You might not care, but the Microsoft empire was real once upon a time. Gates was fucking good at his job for his entire career. Jobs had some ups and downs in terms of results. Putting Kalanick in the same category as either of them is really really weird.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- doz33 9y agoIt matters. But not like it used too. All leaders are very quickly out of their depth these days given the scale, speed and complexity of today's markets and rates at which things change. What they can actually do, to be effective has reduced. Lot of them end up being lightning rods when things go bad. They know this and rightly get compensated highly for it.
- sekasi 9y agoI don't know that this is true at all. Yes, complexity has shifted, yes today's market is different. This does not really change the fact that a focused, driven leader can impart a strong sense of company focus and vision that becomes a really powerful driving force. I've seen it, it's definitely still a thing and I don't see a great leader being less important anytime soon.
- FussyZeus 9y agoSeems like an ideal position to place AI. Remove the board of directors and the C-level execs in place of one machine intelligence.