4 ms·

Isn't that true of most CEOs though? When a CEO comes around, you have nothing to gain and your entire employment to lose. Edit: The point is not that we all

Isn't that true of most CEOs though? When a CEO comes around, you have nothing to gain and your entire employment to lose. Edit: The point is not that we all reside in toxic workplaces. The point is that there is no upside to interacting with a CEO. A parallel situation might be giving a loaded pistol with a child. In that case, the upside is that they now have one thousand and one chew toys instead of one thousand. The downside is that they can kill themselves accidentally. Outside of a few specific people in a company, a CEO most likely can't make anyone's life better. However, if, for example, you're coding and a pornographic ad appears in Firefox on your second monitor, then your employment isn't likely to continue much longer.

DabbyDabberson 4y ago
I've never felt that way at the 3 tech companies I've worked at. More to the contrary, I'd want the CEO or CTO to know me, who i am, and what I've done.
- artificial 4y ago
  How large are the companies approximately? I've worked for small to large. The visibility was possible on the smaller companies, the larger was increasingly difficult (oceans of smaller teams). I haven't worked at a company where I've feared the CEO.
- Tempest1981 4y ago
  Good to have an "elevator speech" ready, in case you bump into them.
- scarface74 4y ago
  Those tech companies must have been small. Don’t get me wrong. I spent most of my career at small companies. But, currently, my CEO is 7 levels above me in the hierarchy and I’m one of 1.6+ million employees.
  - roflyear 4y ago
    I've worked for a top 50 company by market cap and the CEO and other execs we're pleasant people. Well one or two of the execs were assholes but not the 'ill get you fired' assholes.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      And you knew the CEO personally at those companies?
      - roflyear 4y ago
        I didn't "know them personally" but I interacted with them on a few dozen occasions.
maxbond 4y ago
At my last exit interview, my CEO was asking me how he could improve his understanding of the engineering team. I threw out the idea that he could meet with people for 15 minutes on a rotation. He explained that he couldn't do that without terrifying people. Just because people are scared of the CEO doesn't mean most CEOs weaponize this into a tool of micromanagement.
- pmoriarty 4y ago
  It's a sad comment on the corporate world that so many are terrified of those they work for.
  - falcolas 4y ago
    It's a learned helplessness response. I've been burned by enough "yes man" management that I've given up trying to do more than necessary for management. Want feedback? Sorry, I don't have any. Fuck, I've gotten a reprimand for pointing out how Musk is perhaps not the best role model when someone mentioned they idolized him. That learned me.
  - nikau 4y ago
    At will employment in a nutshell.
- anotheracctfo 4y ago
  I am hyper cognizant of that as a manager. I have to teach my new people not to fear me, because a lot of working class people come from industries where your boss is NOT your friend.
- Tempest1981 4y ago
  > meet with people Maybe after 2 or 3 times it gets better. Build up a rapport first.
kibwen 4y ago
Any CEO who forces you to bend the knee in order to remain employed isn't a CEO that's worthy of your employment. If an executive wants my respect, they can earn it by doing things that are worthy of respect.
postalrat 4y ago
Maybe if you aren't contributing or are abusing your position.
foostepsndpics 4y ago
roflyear 4y ago
Nah I worked for a fortune 50 company and loved when I was able to interact with the CEO. I was able to often as I headed up some important infra. The local (CEO was stationed overseas but visited occasionally) execs were also fun to work with. Unless you like assaulted them or were extremely rude they would never go and try and get you fired for a mistake or for being off. Not that they were probably exceptional people or anything but more likely they just didn't care.

DabbyDabberson 4y ago

I've never felt that way at the 3 tech companies I've worked at. More to the contrary, I'd want the CEO or CTO to know me, who i am, and what I've done.

artificial 4y ago
How large are the companies approximately? I've worked for small to large. The visibility was possible on the smaller companies, the larger was increasingly difficult (oceans of smaller teams). I haven't worked at a company where I've feared the CEO.
Tempest1981 4y ago
Good to have an "elevator speech" ready, in case you bump into them.
scarface74 4y ago
Those tech companies must have been small. Don’t get me wrong. I spent most of my career at small companies. But, currently, my CEO is 7 levels above me in the hierarchy and I’m one of 1.6+ million employees.
- roflyear 4y ago
  I've worked for a top 50 company by market cap and the CEO and other execs we're pleasant people. Well one or two of the execs were assholes but not the 'ill get you fired' assholes.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    And you knew the CEO personally at those companies?
    - roflyear 4y ago
      I didn't "know them personally" but I interacted with them on a few dozen occasions.

maxbond 4y ago

At my last exit interview, my CEO was asking me how he could improve his understanding of the engineering team. I threw out the idea that he could meet with people for 15 minutes on a rotation. He explained that he couldn't do that without terrifying people. Just because people are scared of the CEO doesn't mean most CEOs weaponize this into a tool of micromanagement.

pmoriarty 4y ago
It's a sad comment on the corporate world that so many are terrified of those they work for.
- falcolas 4y ago
  It's a learned helplessness response. I've been burned by enough "yes man" management that I've given up trying to do more than necessary for management. Want feedback? Sorry, I don't have any. Fuck, I've gotten a reprimand for pointing out how Musk is perhaps not the best role model when someone mentioned they idolized him. That learned me.
- nikau 4y ago
  At will employment in a nutshell.
anotheracctfo 4y ago
I am hyper cognizant of that as a manager. I have to teach my new people not to fear me, because a lot of working class people come from industries where your boss is NOT your friend.
Tempest1981 4y ago
> meet with people Maybe after 2 or 3 times it gets better. Build up a rapport first.

kibwen 4y ago

Any CEO who forces you to bend the knee in order to remain employed isn't a CEO that's worthy of your employment. If an executive wants my respect, they can earn it by doing things that are worthy of respect.

postalrat 4y ago

Maybe if you aren't contributing or are abusing your position.

foostepsndpics 4y ago

roflyear 4y ago

Nah I worked for a fortune 50 company and loved when I was able to interact with the CEO. I was able to often as I headed up some important infra. The local (CEO was stationed overseas but visited occasionally) execs were also fun to work with. Unless you like assaulted them or were extremely rude they would never go and try and get you fired for a mistake or for being off. Not that they were probably exceptional people or anything but more likely they just didn't care.