5 ms·

Seriously, does anyone take anyone seriously who calls themselves CEO, CTO or CFO of a 5 man company? How about owner or founder. Maybe it's a cultural thing bu

by smiler 14y ago

Seriously, does anyone take anyone seriously who calls themselves CEO, CTO or CFO of a 5 man company? How about owner or founder. Maybe it's a cultural thing but here in the UK we'd definitely laugh at someone calling themselves that unless it was a company of a considerable size.

rachelbythebay 14y ago
There was a similar phenomenon some years back when Linux (and other systems which could run on ordinary computers) started getting big. People thought running their own machine and/or having root was a big deal. They had to be reminded that "you aren't really a sysadmin until you have some users". It seems the same would apply here.
- Evbn 14y ago
  They have at least one user, and they are learning how the system works more than on a win98 system. Did your first machine have multiple users?
caseyohara 14y ago
I don't understand this phenomenon either. The 5-man company of all C-level executives. Or the software shop with only "Senior" developers. I suspect it might be peacocking in an attempt to make the company appear bigger than it really is, or to have structure in place when the company grows (see: premature optimization). In the case of the "senior developers", I imagine it might be to instill a kind of trust with the company's clients that their business is being handled by 'senior' employees. Either way, I think it's silly.
gedrap 14y ago
I think it's more about the way you say/use it rather than the name you use. All those sayings would be equally (more or less) stupid/annoying if you replace C by (co-)founder. > I want you to think about this, how many interns get to go sit down and talk to the FOUNDER of a company about its inter-workings every day? it just does not make sense”
notatoad 14y ago
My boss (at a 3 person company) calls himself the president. I laugh at him for it, but ultimately I can't really criticize. Solo founder is a hard job, and if you're doing it why shouldnt you be able to call yourself whatever the hell you want? It's not like there are a whole lot of other perks, and what's the harm?
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- rlu 14y ago
  The harm is it often comes with a bad attitude, whether on purpose or not.
gyardley 14y ago
Yes, some people do, which is why as the owner / founder / 'CXO' you should use whatever title's best for the situation you happen to be in at that moment.
ScottBurson 14y ago
I was thinking of having business cards printed up that said "CEO/CTO/CJO". When anyone asked me what the "J" stood for, I would of course answer "Janitorial".
- alexhawket 14y ago
  Or how about just CE... Chief Employee.
davidandgoliath 14y ago
It's merely a difference in titles -- in the UK it's often 'managing director' or some variant. Here in North America, it's CEO. Size is irrelevant: it just so happens that is the title on my shares, thus I adhere to it. I go by 'Chief Nerd Wrangler' nonetheless, as it's more appropriate of a job description. It still doesn't make it any less of a janitorial position.

by smiler 14y ago

rachelbythebay 14y ago

There was a similar phenomenon some years back when Linux (and other systems which could run on ordinary computers) started getting big. People thought running their own machine and/or having root was a big deal. They had to be reminded that "you aren't really a sysadmin until you have some users". It seems the same would apply here.

Evbn 14y ago
They have at least one user, and they are learning how the system works more than on a win98 system. Did your first machine have multiple users?

caseyohara 14y ago

I don't understand this phenomenon either. The 5-man company of all C-level executives. Or the software shop with only "Senior" developers. I suspect it might be peacocking in an attempt to make the company appear bigger than it really is, or to have structure in place when the company grows (see: premature optimization). In the case of the "senior developers", I imagine it might be to instill a kind of trust with the company's clients that their business is being handled by 'senior' employees. Either way, I think it's silly.

gedrap 14y ago

I think it's more about the way you say/use it rather than the name you use. All those sayings would be equally (more or less) stupid/annoying if you replace C by (co-)founder. > I want you to think about this, how many interns get to go sit down and talk to the FOUNDER of a company about its inter-workings every day? it just does not make sense”

notatoad 14y ago

My boss (at a 3 person company) calls himself the president. I laugh at him for it, but ultimately I can't really criticize. Solo founder is a hard job, and if you're doing it why shouldnt you be able to call yourself whatever the hell you want? It's not like there are a whole lot of other perks, and what's the harm?

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
rlu 14y ago
The harm is it often comes with a bad attitude, whether on purpose or not.

gyardley 14y ago

Yes, some people do, which is why as the owner / founder / 'CXO' you should use whatever title's best for the situation you happen to be in at that moment.

ScottBurson 14y ago

I was thinking of having business cards printed up that said "CEO/CTO/CJO". When anyone asked me what the "J" stood for, I would of course answer "Janitorial".

alexhawket 14y ago
Or how about just CE... Chief Employee.

davidandgoliath 14y ago

It's merely a difference in titles -- in the UK it's often 'managing director' or some variant. Here in North America, it's CEO. Size is irrelevant: it just so happens that is the title on my shares, thus I adhere to it. I go by 'Chief Nerd Wrangler' nonetheless, as it's more appropriate of a job description. It still doesn't make it any less of a janitorial position.