3 ms·

> Plenty of middle-managers could do as well as the average CEO. I’ve worked with several CEOs and countless senior executives, both at very large companies an

> Plenty of middle-managers could do as well as the average CEO. I’ve worked with several CEOs and countless senior executives, both at very large companies and small, who had varying degrees of competency. I don’t think this is generally true. Being successful at that job entails a specialized skill set that is rarely evident in middle management. What you are “managing” at the most senior levels of large organizations is very different than as a middle manager, it becomes an entirely different kind of role. The vast majority of people aren’t even able to competently run a small company or startup, never mind a large enterprise. I think very few people are really cut out for that role. It is a case where demand exceeds supply, which drives up prices. There are many mediocre people in those roles because supply is so scarce.

jandrese 4y ago
I think you are right that the skills to be a successful CEO are rare, but I think the main problem is that the hiring process for CEO is so incestual that the majority of the people who would be good for the job aren't even considered. Instead the applicant pool consists of "son of current CEO", "son of CEO's favorite politician", and several "CEO that is currently failing a different company". The applicant pool feels small because they never look beyond the boundaries of "billionaire families who go to the same country club". There are a few CEOs that seem to truly make a difference, and maybe those would be worth the money, but for the most part companies are grossly overpaying for people who are mediocre to terrible at the job and will deploy the golden parachute in a couple of years to go fail at a different company.
- startupsfail 4y ago
  The CEOs that belong to the club (network) can draw on the resources available to that network. It is widely believed that this ability is more important than the technical skills. It used to be correct when e-mail, LinkedIn or Google were not a thing. Now this is simply a cargo cult.
  - jandrese 4y ago
    That smells like rationalization to me. "No candidate outside of my personal circle of friends could possibly do this job because being in the circle is required to do the job."
    - lenzm 4y ago
      More like self fulfilling prophecy. The clique preferentially favors doing business with each other causing their businesses to perform better.
nostrademons 4y ago
Relevant though somewhat tongue-in-cheek: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/11/09/ceos-dont-steer/ https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/11/09/ceos-dont-steer/ I think that there are a lot of people that are cut out to be CEO, but most of them are already working as CEO - of a small business, or household, or one-man consultancy. There are very few people that are cut out to be CEO of the particular big corporation that is hiring for CEO. If you take the Ribbonfarm essay at face value, the quality that qualifies a person to be CEO is that their natural personality is in total alignment with the direction that the organization needs to go, and so they can merely be themselves, loudly and brashly, and they will attract followers that take the organization in that direction. There are just a handful of people, oftentimes one or none, whose natural personality is perfectly aligned with where the board wants to take the company. When you find that one, you should pay top dollar to get and retain them, because you may not find another.
- pas 4y ago
  and for each genuine such personality the board will find a dozen psychologically problematic implicit conman (or conperson) that seems a close enough fit. and these scammers are the very visible symptom that folks talk about usually.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
codeisawesome 4y ago
Can you elaborate what those skills are in your view? Meaning no disrespect, your current comment sounds like a hand-wavy opinion with zero actual justification.
- heisjustsosmart 4y ago
  He specializes in handwaving posts with no solid content. Look at his database posts for example where he's wasted a lot of people's time.

jandrese 4y ago

I think you are right that the skills to be a successful CEO are rare, but I think the main problem is that the hiring process for CEO is so incestual that the majority of the people who would be good for the job aren't even considered. Instead the applicant pool consists of "son of current CEO", "son of CEO's favorite politician", and several "CEO that is currently failing a different company". The applicant pool feels small because they never look beyond the boundaries of "billionaire families who go to the same country club". There are a few CEOs that seem to truly make a difference, and maybe those would be worth the money, but for the most part companies are grossly overpaying for people who are mediocre to terrible at the job and will deploy the golden parachute in a couple of years to go fail at a different company.

startupsfail 4y ago
The CEOs that belong to the club (network) can draw on the resources available to that network. It is widely believed that this ability is more important than the technical skills. It used to be correct when e-mail, LinkedIn or Google were not a thing. Now this is simply a cargo cult.
- jandrese 4y ago
  That smells like rationalization to me. "No candidate outside of my personal circle of friends could possibly do this job because being in the circle is required to do the job."
  - lenzm 4y ago
    More like self fulfilling prophecy. The clique preferentially favors doing business with each other causing their businesses to perform better.

nostrademons 4y ago

Relevant though somewhat tongue-in-cheek: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/11/09/ceos-dont-steer/ https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/11/09/ceos-dont-steer/ I think that there are a lot of people that are cut out to be CEO, but most of them are already working as CEO - of a small business, or household, or one-man consultancy. There are very few people that are cut out to be CEO of the particular big corporation that is hiring for CEO. If you take the Ribbonfarm essay at face value, the quality that qualifies a person to be CEO is that their natural personality is in total alignment with the direction that the organization needs to go, and so they can merely be themselves, loudly and brashly, and they will attract followers that take the organization in that direction. There are just a handful of people, oftentimes one or none, whose natural personality is perfectly aligned with where the board wants to take the company. When you find that one, you should pay top dollar to get and retain them, because you may not find another.

pas 4y ago
and for each genuine such personality the board will find a dozen psychologically problematic implicit conman (or conperson) that seems a close enough fit. and these scammers are the very visible symptom that folks talk about usually.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

codeisawesome 4y ago

Can you elaborate what those skills are in your view? Meaning no disrespect, your current comment sounds like a hand-wavy opinion with zero actual justification.

heisjustsosmart 4y ago
He specializes in handwaving posts with no solid content. Look at his database posts for example where he's wasted a lot of people's time.