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Can someone explain to me what Sam Altman is doing to be so far ahead of everyone else in terms of navigating these high stakes roles? This happened at YC and

Can someone explain to me what Sam Altman is doing to be so far ahead of everyone else in terms of navigating these high stakes roles? This happened at YC and a number of other places too, he goes into situations with nothing and comes out on top despite all odds. Is he that skilled an operator, negotiator, or manipulator or something?

FloorEgg 11mo ago
I can only speculate so take it with a spoon of salt... But people who are really good at sussing out other people's wants can find ways to make more people happy. It's like a maze of interests and I guess he's just really motivated and good at navigating and aligning them (at least among the rich and powerful). He also seems to understand something about power and perception, in that he takes calculated risks that seem to keep working out. So in other words, he seems to be an extraordinarily skillful politician (in both the general and the Patrick Lencioni sense).
- rhetocj23 11mo ago
  [flagged]
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - kelipso 11mo ago
    This is the guy who had everyone here rooting for him when the OpenAI board tried to kick him out. Which was almost certainly the result of a very successful PR campaign carried out by him. He's not really comparable with Jobs. This guy is a politician and Jobs was a product guy.
    - JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
      > This guy is a politician and Jobs was a product guy They're both excellent marketers.
      - rhetocj23 11mo ago
        Not at all. When people say this statement about Jobs, it tells me how little they know about the man. S Jobs was a clinical and clear communicator. Altman in comparison? Lmao.
        JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
        > When people say this statement about Jobs, it tells me how little they know about the man Going to bet I’ve met them both more times than you have. Neither man was or is an archetype.
        rhetocj23 11mo ago
        You havent met anyone fella. I see your posts here all the time - full of bluster.
    - rhetocj23 11mo ago
      Lol what? You need to do more research fella. Did it not ever occur to you that Jobs got the recording industry to dance to his tune to offer music for under a dollar? He did the same with the iPhone - smashing the control cellular network providers had over handset producers. "This is the guy who had everyone here rooting for him when the OpenAI board tried to kick him out." Finally... oh this is just funny. Who rooted for S Jobs when he was kicked out of Apple, and cheered for him on his return? .....
    - int_19h 11mo ago
      I don't recall "everyone" rooting for him when OpenAI board tried to kick him out. Not even on HN.
      - antognini 11mo ago
        Around 95% of the OpenAI engineers signed a letter to the board threatening to quit unless he was reinstated.
        int_19h 11mo ago
        Of course they did, they all stood to immensely profit from his course of actions. But OP talked about "people here".
- thereitgoes456 11mo ago
  It's too early to say if his risks "keep working out". Restructuring is not a risk. His, and others', original decision to make the company a non-profit was also not a calculated risk in this sense. When he was fired from OpenAI, his use of employee manipulation to regain his position is not a risk; it is the only option he had. It was his bond maturing, of carefully cultivated loyalty he had accrued over years. Gaining that loyalty was not really a risk. It was smart politics. One risk he took is: signing away such a large portion of the company to Microsoft. I'm not sure whether that is working out. Another risk he took is: neglecting and sidelining the "safety" portion of his organization. This caused a talent exodus and led to the formation of many competitors. I'm not sure whether that is working out either.
  - JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
    > Restructuring is not a risk...his use of employee manipulation to regain his position is not a risk; it is the only option he had In both cases he had the option of accepting the status quo.
bix6 11mo ago
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/sam-altmans-manifest-destiny https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/sam-altmans-ma...
danielmarkbruce 11mo ago
It's a bit much to say he goes into situations with nothing - he, along with others created OpenAI. It's a decent sized company now and they have sway with governments. All decent sized companies do as employers. This kind of stuff happens all the time and it just doesn't get reported as much.
mrDmrTmrJ 11mo ago
It's a great question. Here are two Paul Graham (PG) quotes on Sam Altman (Sama) from 2008 and 2009. Note, PG is the founder of YC, Sam's former boss, and the one who removed Sam from the position of President of YC after first appointing Sam to succeed him as President of YC. (Sama was more focused on OpenAI than on YC at the time, which doesn't work when you're supposed to be leading YC.) 2008 Essay "A Fundraising Survival Guide" https://www.paulgraham.com/fundraising.html https://www.paulgraham.com/fundraising.html Sam Altman has it. You could parachute him into an island full of cannibals and come back in 5 years and he'd be the king. If you're Sam Altman, you don't have to be profitable to convey to investors that you'll succeed with or without them. (He wasn't, and he did.) Not everyone has Sam's deal-making ability. I myself don't. But if you don't, you can let the numbers speak for you. 2009 Essay "5 Founders" https://paulgraham.com/5founders.html https://paulgraham.com/5founders.html 5. Sam Altman I was told I shouldn't mention founders of YC-funded companies in this list. But Sam Altman can't be stopped by such flimsy rules. If he wants to be on this list, he's going to be. ... What I learned from meeting Sama is that the doctrine of the elect applies to startups. It applies way less than most people think: startup investing does not consist of trying to pick winners the way you might in a horse race. But there are a few people with such force of will that they're going to get whatever they want. That's PG's take on Sama. I would say, looking at a wide range of Sam Altman's more investments https://observer.com/2025/06/sam-altman-startup-investments/ https://observer.com/2025/06/sam-altman-startup-investments/ from OpenAI to Helion energy (Fusion), to Retro Biosciences (longevity), Neuralink (brain computer interface), to Reddit Sama really wants to "build the future," and when some of those investments "hit", like OpenAI did - basically become the first new company with a clear path to a $1T valuation since Facebook or TikTok), you gain immense credibility for "betting the future will happen and getting your organization there first." If YC's motto is "build something people want," and OpenAI is now serving 800M active users while delivering incredible revenue growth (and investors want to see both). Sama gains power by giving investors what they want, by giving users what they want, and basically authoring an entire new type of software company and a new part of the economy. A thing to note here is that, being a YC partner and top angel investor from 2011 to 2020, you can argue that Sam himself is "the most successful YC graduate." He saw thousands of companies go through YC. He saw hundreds of 'hard tech companies' go through YC. And in that decade, he could only have learned an immense amount about how VCs/successful CEOs think and make decisions. Certainly, we see the learnings of those experiences in what he's been able to pull off since.
anthem2025 11mo ago
[dead]
SecretDreams 11mo ago
> Is he that skilled an operator, negotiator, or manipulator or something? He probably has everything every politician has ever asked chatgpt index and ready to be emailed out at any given time?
coliveira 11mo ago
There is a book written about this topic. SA is the classic manipulator. He talks to each person whatever they want to hear, irrespective of what he really believes. Many of the things he says about AI and OpenAI are clear BS, but he'll sell that to anyone with a different flavor.
- alhazraed 11mo ago
  What book?
  - bazmattaz 11mo ago
    ‘Empire of AI’ maybe?
btian 11mo ago
He has great foresight, which helps a lot in investing and operating OAI.
nilkn 11mo ago
His pattern seems to be: (0) Be exceptionally intelligent and capable of applying that intelligence to people, not just code or math — necessary for everything that follows. (1) Keep attention diversified as long as possible until the winning path becomes obvious. (2) Focus on fringe bets, but pursue many simultaneously until one clearly dominates (see (1)). (3) Extreme social manipulation — people-pleasing, control- and power-seeking, selective transparency, skillful large-scale dishonesty, and a willingness to hurt or betray when it serves (1) and (2) and the relational cost is acceptable. (2) brought him into the startup ecosystem and the first YC batch in the first place (he had to start somewhere); combined with (3) he made an early fortune from a failed startup. (3) also ingratiated him with PG and others in those years. (1)+(2) ensured he always had exposure to every plausible frontier of the industry; when he was effectively fired from YC for (1)+(3), (2) made the OpenAI pivot the next obvious move — and a better one. (3) almost cost him his career a second time when the board fired him from OpenAI temporarily, but he survived because (3) also ensured he had enough to offer everyone else that he leveraged his way back in.

FloorEgg 11mo ago

I can only speculate so take it with a spoon of salt... But people who are really good at sussing out other people's wants can find ways to make more people happy. It's like a maze of interests and I guess he's just really motivated and good at navigating and aligning them (at least among the rich and powerful). He also seems to understand something about power and perception, in that he takes calculated risks that seem to keep working out. So in other words, he seems to be an extraordinarily skillful politician (in both the general and the Patrick Lencioni sense).

rhetocj23 11mo ago
[flagged]
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- kelipso 11mo ago
  This is the guy who had everyone here rooting for him when the OpenAI board tried to kick him out. Which was almost certainly the result of a very successful PR campaign carried out by him. He's not really comparable with Jobs. This guy is a politician and Jobs was a product guy.
  - JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
    > This guy is a politician and Jobs was a product guy They're both excellent marketers.
    - rhetocj23 11mo ago
      Not at all. When people say this statement about Jobs, it tells me how little they know about the man. S Jobs was a clinical and clear communicator. Altman in comparison? Lmao.
      - JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
        > When people say this statement about Jobs, it tells me how little they know about the man Going to bet I’ve met them both more times than you have. Neither man was or is an archetype.
        rhetocj23 11mo ago
        You havent met anyone fella. I see your posts here all the time - full of bluster.
  - rhetocj23 11mo ago
    Lol what? You need to do more research fella. Did it not ever occur to you that Jobs got the recording industry to dance to his tune to offer music for under a dollar? He did the same with the iPhone - smashing the control cellular network providers had over handset producers. "This is the guy who had everyone here rooting for him when the OpenAI board tried to kick him out." Finally... oh this is just funny. Who rooted for S Jobs when he was kicked out of Apple, and cheered for him on his return? .....
  - int_19h 11mo ago
    I don't recall "everyone" rooting for him when OpenAI board tried to kick him out. Not even on HN.
    - antognini 11mo ago
      Around 95% of the OpenAI engineers signed a letter to the board threatening to quit unless he was reinstated.
      - int_19h 11mo ago
        Of course they did, they all stood to immensely profit from his course of actions. But OP talked about "people here".
thereitgoes456 11mo ago
It's too early to say if his risks "keep working out". Restructuring is not a risk. His, and others', original decision to make the company a non-profit was also not a calculated risk in this sense. When he was fired from OpenAI, his use of employee manipulation to regain his position is not a risk; it is the only option he had. It was his bond maturing, of carefully cultivated loyalty he had accrued over years. Gaining that loyalty was not really a risk. It was smart politics. One risk he took is: signing away such a large portion of the company to Microsoft. I'm not sure whether that is working out. Another risk he took is: neglecting and sidelining the "safety" portion of his organization. This caused a talent exodus and led to the formation of many competitors. I'm not sure whether that is working out either.
- JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
  > Restructuring is not a risk...his use of employee manipulation to regain his position is not a risk; it is the only option he had In both cases he had the option of accepting the status quo.

bix6 11mo ago

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/sam-altmans-manifest-destiny https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/sam-altmans-ma...

danielmarkbruce 11mo ago

It's a bit much to say he goes into situations with nothing - he, along with others created OpenAI. It's a decent sized company now and they have sway with governments. All decent sized companies do as employers. This kind of stuff happens all the time and it just doesn't get reported as much.

mrDmrTmrJ 11mo ago

It's a great question. Here are two Paul Graham (PG) quotes on Sam Altman (Sama) from 2008 and 2009. Note, PG is the founder of YC, Sam's former boss, and the one who removed Sam from the position of President of YC after first appointing Sam to succeed him as President of YC. (Sama was more focused on OpenAI than on YC at the time, which doesn't work when you're supposed to be leading YC.) 2008 Essay "A Fundraising Survival Guide" https://www.paulgraham.com/fundraising.html https://www.paulgraham.com/fundraising.html Sam Altman has it. You could parachute him into an island full of cannibals and come back in 5 years and he'd be the king. If you're Sam Altman, you don't have to be profitable to convey to investors that you'll succeed with or without them. (He wasn't, and he did.) Not everyone has Sam's deal-making ability. I myself don't. But if you don't, you can let the numbers speak for you. 2009 Essay "5 Founders" https://paulgraham.com/5founders.html https://paulgraham.com/5founders.html 5. Sam Altman I was told I shouldn't mention founders of YC-funded companies in this list. But Sam Altman can't be stopped by such flimsy rules. If he wants to be on this list, he's going to be. ... What I learned from meeting Sama is that the doctrine of the elect applies to startups. It applies way less than most people think: startup investing does not consist of trying to pick winners the way you might in a horse race. But there are a few people with such force of will that they're going to get whatever they want. That's PG's take on Sama. I would say, looking at a wide range of Sam Altman's more investments https://observer.com/2025/06/sam-altman-startup-investments/ https://observer.com/2025/06/sam-altman-startup-investments/ from OpenAI to Helion energy (Fusion), to Retro Biosciences (longevity), Neuralink (brain computer interface), to Reddit Sama really wants to "build the future," and when some of those investments "hit", like OpenAI did - basically become the first new company with a clear path to a $1T valuation since Facebook or TikTok), you gain immense credibility for "betting the future will happen and getting your organization there first." If YC's motto is "build something people want," and OpenAI is now serving 800M active users while delivering incredible revenue growth (and investors want to see both). Sama gains power by giving investors what they want, by giving users what they want, and basically authoring an entire new type of software company and a new part of the economy. A thing to note here is that, being a YC partner and top angel investor from 2011 to 2020, you can argue that Sam himself is "the most successful YC graduate." He saw thousands of companies go through YC. He saw hundreds of 'hard tech companies' go through YC. And in that decade, he could only have learned an immense amount about how VCs/successful CEOs think and make decisions. Certainly, we see the learnings of those experiences in what he's been able to pull off since.

anthem2025 11mo ago

[dead]

SecretDreams 11mo ago

> Is he that skilled an operator, negotiator, or manipulator or something? He probably has everything every politician has ever asked chatgpt index and ready to be emailed out at any given time?

coliveira 11mo ago

There is a book written about this topic. SA is the classic manipulator. He talks to each person whatever they want to hear, irrespective of what he really believes. Many of the things he says about AI and OpenAI are clear BS, but he'll sell that to anyone with a different flavor.

alhazraed 11mo ago
What book?
- bazmattaz 11mo ago
  ‘Empire of AI’ maybe?

btian 11mo ago

He has great foresight, which helps a lot in investing and operating OAI.

nilkn 11mo ago

His pattern seems to be: (0) Be exceptionally intelligent and capable of applying that intelligence to people, not just code or math — necessary for everything that follows. (1) Keep attention diversified as long as possible until the winning path becomes obvious. (2) Focus on fringe bets, but pursue many simultaneously until one clearly dominates (see (1)). (3) Extreme social manipulation — people-pleasing, control- and power-seeking, selective transparency, skillful large-scale dishonesty, and a willingness to hurt or betray when it serves (1) and (2) and the relational cost is acceptable. (2) brought him into the startup ecosystem and the first YC batch in the first place (he had to start somewhere); combined with (3) he made an early fortune from a failed startup. (3) also ingratiated him with PG and others in those years. (1)+(2) ensured he always had exposure to every plausible frontier of the industry; when he was effectively fired from YC for (1)+(3), (2) made the OpenAI pivot the next obvious move — and a better one. (3) almost cost him his career a second time when the board fired him from OpenAI temporarily, but he survived because (3) also ensured he had enough to offer everyone else that he leveraged his way back in.