The few months when I actually had a non-compete in place it was quite specific and didn't apply to me. But, yeah, as a generic thing below the level of a CEO

The few months when I actually had a non-compete in place it was quite specific and didn't apply to me. But, yeah, as a generic thing below the level of a CEO becoming the CEO of a direct competitor (in which case lawyers have presumably put specific contracts in place if they're competent), they don't make a lot of sense beyond NDAs in play. No properly-managed company was ever going to pay me a bunch of money to not work at a random company in the industry who was probably a partner anyway.