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Yeah this cult of CEOs is weird. It's such a small cohort that when someone doesn't completely blow it, they're immediately deemed as geniuses. Give someone b

Yeah this cult of CEOs is weird. It's such a small cohort that when someone doesn't completely blow it, they're immediately deemed as geniuses. Give someone billions of dollars and hundreds of brilliant engineers, researchers and many will make it work. But only a few ever get the chance, so this happens. They don't do any of the work. They just take the credit.

bsenftner 3y ago
> Yeah this cult of CEOs is weird. Now imagine the weekend for those fired and those who quit OpenAI: you know they are talking together as a group, and meeting with others offering them billions to make a pure commercial new AI company. An Oscar worthy film could be made about them in this weekend.
hef19898 3y ago
My last gig was with one of those wannabe Elon Musks (what wouldnI give to get wannabe Steve Jobs back). Horrible, ultimately he was ousted as CEO, only to be allowed to stay on as some head of innovation, because he and his founder buddies retained enough voting power to first get him a life time position as head of the board fir his "acievements" and then prevent his firing. They also vetoed, from ehat people told, a juicy acquisition offer, basically jeopardizing the future of the place. Right after, a new CEO was recruited as the result of a "lengthy and thoroughly planned process of transition". Now, the former CEO is back, and in charge, in fact and noz on paper, of the most crucial part of the product. Besides getting said company to 800 people burning a sweet billion, he didn't do anything else in his life, and that company has yet to launch a product. Sad thing so, if they find enough people to continue investing, they will ultimately launch a product, most likely the early employees and founders will sell of their shares, become instant millionaires in the three figures and be hailed as thebtrue geniuses in their field... What an utter shit show that was...
- Draiken 3y ago
  The sad reality is that most top executives get there because of connections or simply being in the right place at the right time. Funnily enough I also worked for a CEO that hit the lottery with timing and became a millionaire. He then drank his own kool-aid and thought he was some sort of Steve Jobs. Of course he never managed to build anything afterwards. But he kept making a shit ton of money, without a doubt. After they get one position in that echelon, they can keep failing upwards ad nauseam. I don't get the cult part though. It's so easy to see they're not even close to the geniuses they pretend to be. Just look at the recent SBF debacle. It's pathetic how folks fall for this.
- fallingknife 3y ago
  > Besides getting said company to 800 people burning a sweet billion, he didn't do anything else in his life Getting a company to that size is a lot.
  - hef19898 3y ago
    All you need is HR... I'm a cynic. He got the funding so, which is a lot (as an achievement and in terms of mones raised). He just started to believe to be the genius not justbin raising money, but also is building product and organisation. He isn't and never was. What struck me so, even the adults hired to replace him, didn't have the courage to call him out. Hence his comeback in function if not title. Well, I'm happy to work with adults again, in a sane environment with people that known their job. It was a very, very useful experience so, and I wouldn't miss it.
  - aledalgrande 3y ago
    Not if you have 1B sitting in the bank as stated above
FireBeyond 3y ago
> It's such a small cohort that when someone doesn't completely blow it, they're immediately deemed as geniuses. And many times even when they do blow it, it's handwaved away as being something outside of their control, so let's give them another shot.
manicennui 3y ago
A sizable portion of the HN bubble is wannabe grifters. They look up to successful grifters.
- dboreham 3y ago
  To be fair: a sizable proportion of humans are like that.
  - tempaccount420 3y ago
    To be fair: that's just your sample. I don't see that.
    - Aerbil313 3y ago
      Same. Most people afaict just live with little to no ambitions.
      - antifa 3y ago
        Everybody I know is either burnt out from working or full of ambition with very few, very small opportunities.
duped 3y ago
The primary job of an early stage tech CEO is to convince people to give you those billions of dollars, one doesn't come without the other.
- Draiken 3y ago
  Which proves my point. This cult on top of someone that simply convinced people (they knew from their connections) being considered a genius is absurd.
  - austhrow743 3y ago
    Convincing people is the ultimate trade. It can achieve more than any other skill. The idea that success at it shouldn’t be grounds for the genius label is absurd.
    - Draiken 3y ago
      Depends on what we, as a society, want to value. Do we want to value people with connections and luck, or people that work for their achievements? Of course it's not a boolean, it's a spectrum. But the point remains: valuing lucky rich people with connections as geniuses because they are lucky, rich and connected is nonsensical to me
    - consp 3y ago
      > It can achieve more than any other skill. And also destroy more. The line between is very thin and littered with landmines.
    - aledalgrande 3y ago
      > Convincing people is the ultimate trade So by your standard SBF is an absolute genius.
      - hypnodron 3y ago
        Apparently not, as he was not able to convince the jury that he's innocent
bertil 3y ago
Not CEOs: founders. Some founders don’t do much, and some are violently toxic (Lord knows I worked for many), but it’s rarely how they gather big financing rounds. At least, the terrible ones I know rarely did. CEOs… I’ve seen people coast from Consulting or Audit into very mediocre careers, so I wouldn’t understand if Conway defended them as a class. The Cult for Founders has problems (for the reasons you point out, especially those who keep looking for ‘technical cofounders’ for years), but it’s not as blatantly unfounded.

bsenftner 3y ago

> Yeah this cult of CEOs is weird. Now imagine the weekend for those fired and those who quit OpenAI: you know they are talking together as a group, and meeting with others offering them billions to make a pure commercial new AI company. An Oscar worthy film could be made about them in this weekend.

hef19898 3y ago

My last gig was with one of those wannabe Elon Musks (what wouldnI give to get wannabe Steve Jobs back). Horrible, ultimately he was ousted as CEO, only to be allowed to stay on as some head of innovation, because he and his founder buddies retained enough voting power to first get him a life time position as head of the board fir his "acievements" and then prevent his firing. They also vetoed, from ehat people told, a juicy acquisition offer, basically jeopardizing the future of the place. Right after, a new CEO was recruited as the result of a "lengthy and thoroughly planned process of transition". Now, the former CEO is back, and in charge, in fact and noz on paper, of the most crucial part of the product. Besides getting said company to 800 people burning a sweet billion, he didn't do anything else in his life, and that company has yet to launch a product. Sad thing so, if they find enough people to continue investing, they will ultimately launch a product, most likely the early employees and founders will sell of their shares, become instant millionaires in the three figures and be hailed as thebtrue geniuses in their field... What an utter shit show that was...

Draiken 3y ago
The sad reality is that most top executives get there because of connections or simply being in the right place at the right time. Funnily enough I also worked for a CEO that hit the lottery with timing and became a millionaire. He then drank his own kool-aid and thought he was some sort of Steve Jobs. Of course he never managed to build anything afterwards. But he kept making a shit ton of money, without a doubt. After they get one position in that echelon, they can keep failing upwards ad nauseam. I don't get the cult part though. It's so easy to see they're not even close to the geniuses they pretend to be. Just look at the recent SBF debacle. It's pathetic how folks fall for this.
fallingknife 3y ago
> Besides getting said company to 800 people burning a sweet billion, he didn't do anything else in his life Getting a company to that size is a lot.
- hef19898 3y ago
  All you need is HR... I'm a cynic. He got the funding so, which is a lot (as an achievement and in terms of mones raised). He just started to believe to be the genius not justbin raising money, but also is building product and organisation. He isn't and never was. What struck me so, even the adults hired to replace him, didn't have the courage to call him out. Hence his comeback in function if not title. Well, I'm happy to work with adults again, in a sane environment with people that known their job. It was a very, very useful experience so, and I wouldn't miss it.
- aledalgrande 3y ago
  Not if you have 1B sitting in the bank as stated above

FireBeyond 3y ago

> It's such a small cohort that when someone doesn't completely blow it, they're immediately deemed as geniuses. And many times even when they do blow it, it's handwaved away as being something outside of their control, so let's give them another shot.

manicennui 3y ago

A sizable portion of the HN bubble is wannabe grifters. They look up to successful grifters.

dboreham 3y ago
To be fair: a sizable proportion of humans are like that.
- tempaccount420 3y ago
  To be fair: that's just your sample. I don't see that.
  - Aerbil313 3y ago
    Same. Most people afaict just live with little to no ambitions.
    - antifa 3y ago
      Everybody I know is either burnt out from working or full of ambition with very few, very small opportunities.

duped 3y ago

The primary job of an early stage tech CEO is to convince people to give you those billions of dollars, one doesn't come without the other.

Draiken 3y ago
Which proves my point. This cult on top of someone that simply convinced people (they knew from their connections) being considered a genius is absurd.
- austhrow743 3y ago
  Convincing people is the ultimate trade. It can achieve more than any other skill. The idea that success at it shouldn’t be grounds for the genius label is absurd.
  - Draiken 3y ago
    Depends on what we, as a society, want to value. Do we want to value people with connections and luck, or people that work for their achievements? Of course it's not a boolean, it's a spectrum. But the point remains: valuing lucky rich people with connections as geniuses because they are lucky, rich and connected is nonsensical to me
  - consp 3y ago
    > It can achieve more than any other skill. And also destroy more. The line between is very thin and littered with landmines.
  - aledalgrande 3y ago
    > Convincing people is the ultimate trade So by your standard SBF is an absolute genius.
    - hypnodron 3y ago
      Apparently not, as he was not able to convince the jury that he's innocent

bertil 3y ago

Not CEOs: founders. Some founders don’t do much, and some are violently toxic (Lord knows I worked for many), but it’s rarely how they gather big financing rounds. At least, the terrible ones I know rarely did. CEOs… I’ve seen people coast from Consulting or Audit into very mediocre careers, so I wouldn’t understand if Conway defended them as a class. The Cult for Founders has problems (for the reasons you point out, especially those who keep looking for ‘technical cofounders’ for years), but it’s not as blatantly unfounded.