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I've always kinda suspected this just because so many execs seem to have time to be on multiple boards, CEO of whatever, head of some charity, advisor to some s

I've always kinda suspected this just because so many execs seem to have time to be on multiple boards, CEO of whatever, head of some charity, advisor to some startup they have a stake in, et c., all at once, and "they work a lot" can't explain all of that.

crimsonalucard 7y ago
Caveat I should mention. Not all execs are like this, but most are, and this is all that is, in the end, required from the exec. A contrarian example is Steve Jobs. A man who dipped his fingers into every aspect of the company.
- ncmncm 7y ago
  Not true. It was just unpredictable what aspect he would go off on.
  - crimsonalucard 7y ago
    Hold on. You say not true but then you say he did dip his fingers in an unpredictable way.... Of course perhaps you meant he didn't dip his fingers into everything at the same time... Well of course he didnt... he did dip his fingers into random things and eventually over time it led to him basically touching almost every aspect of the company.
    - ncmncm 7y ago
      No. He went off on the color of plastic, the radius of curvature of a housing, the color of the resin in a circuit board. He had no concept of the control of electrical noise in the read head of a disk drive, but almost everything in the company was more like that than the damn plastic. He flattered himself that he controlled everything, and nobody contradicted him, but it was both delusory, and a damn nuisance when he did notice some detail to bother people over. My phone is different from an iphone in literally millions of ways, some thousands of which Jobs could conceivably have perceived, but very, very few of them are better for his attention to them, and in many of them my phone is objectively better.
      - crimsonalucard 7y ago
        Steve Jobs built the company. Then he was ousted by an executive who only knew how to delegate. Then Steve Jobs came roaring back and turned the entire company around. The anecdotes you describe. I'm sure it's true. But it's not the full story.
        ncmncm 7y ago
        Two paragraphs being the full story would be an anomaly. But it matters whether they are true.
      - repolfx 7y ago
        Former Apple employees disagree btw: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/12/13/how-did-steve-jobs-thrive-in-a-technical-field-with-a-non-technical-background/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/12/13/how-did-steve-...
fuzz4lyfe 7y ago
Ever notice how management always think estimates have tons of wiggle room as if you are screwing around half the day? That's because that is their experience in the workplace.

crimsonalucard 7y ago

Caveat I should mention. Not all execs are like this, but most are, and this is all that is, in the end, required from the exec. A contrarian example is Steve Jobs. A man who dipped his fingers into every aspect of the company.

ncmncm 7y ago
Not true. It was just unpredictable what aspect he would go off on.
- crimsonalucard 7y ago
  Hold on. You say not true but then you say he did dip his fingers in an unpredictable way.... Of course perhaps you meant he didn't dip his fingers into everything at the same time... Well of course he didnt... he did dip his fingers into random things and eventually over time it led to him basically touching almost every aspect of the company.
  - ncmncm 7y ago
    No. He went off on the color of plastic, the radius of curvature of a housing, the color of the resin in a circuit board. He had no concept of the control of electrical noise in the read head of a disk drive, but almost everything in the company was more like that than the damn plastic. He flattered himself that he controlled everything, and nobody contradicted him, but it was both delusory, and a damn nuisance when he did notice some detail to bother people over. My phone is different from an iphone in literally millions of ways, some thousands of which Jobs could conceivably have perceived, but very, very few of them are better for his attention to them, and in many of them my phone is objectively better.
    - crimsonalucard 7y ago
      Steve Jobs built the company. Then he was ousted by an executive who only knew how to delegate. Then Steve Jobs came roaring back and turned the entire company around. The anecdotes you describe. I'm sure it's true. But it's not the full story.
      - ncmncm 7y ago
        Two paragraphs being the full story would be an anomaly. But it matters whether they are true.
    - repolfx 7y ago
      Former Apple employees disagree btw: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/12/13/how-did-steve-jobs-thrive-in-a-technical-field-with-a-non-technical-background/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/12/13/how-did-steve-...

fuzz4lyfe 7y ago

Ever notice how management always think estimates have tons of wiggle room as if you are screwing around half the day? That's because that is their experience in the workplace.