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[CEOs] tend to be very bright, and they work extremely hard. You can be extremely bright and work extremely hard and yet fail to produce a desired outcome due
by vannevar 15y ago
[CEOs] tend to be very bright, and they work extremely hard.
You can be extremely bright and work extremely hard and yet fail to produce a desired outcome due to forces beyond your control or understanding. It's human nature to overestimate our degree of control over events, and indeed, CEOs are probably selected for this trait more than other professions. Who wants a CEO who admits he really doesn't have much influence over the fate of a $100B enterprise? No, you want someone who is self-confident to the point of delusion.
- byrneseyeview 15y agoI'm not sure if this is deliberately obtuse, but: all else being equal, the smarter and harder-working person will win, right? The existence of some randomness doesn't mean that skill and judgement are immaterial--if you disagree with that, let's play poker some time.
- vannevar 15y ago[A]ll else being equal, the smarter and harder-working person will win, right? But in actuality, all else is never equal. Then we use the outcome of that unequal scenario to judge after the fact who was the smarter and harder-working. In poker you have a very regular, controlled game. Imagine a tournament where some players were randomly given extra aces, then try and figure out who the best players really are. That's the corporate CEO market.