4 ms·
Can good developers be good CEOs?
- jesusmichael 12y agothey can't...
- alttab 12y agoCan they be? No, they are programmers. Can they become? More interesting question!
- kinj28 12y agoBoth roles are 180 degree apart. both needs very different skillset to deliver awesomeness. Having said this, you cant judge if good programmer will be a good CEO or not untill he functions as a CEO or if he had previous experience of being a CEO.
- kirkus 12y agoIf the good developer has good management and business skills then yes they can.
- chewxy 12y agoFrom a sample size of one: there exists a very famous developer-CEO: Bill Gates
- jesusmichael 12y agoBill was a terrible programmer... So was the facebook kid
- dreamdu5t 12y agoAccording to what?
- jesusmichael 12y agoBill's OS was a mess... didn't write DOS, but "fixed" it... which was the most god awful mess ever to be loading on a box... Facebook in the early years used to crash on a daily basis... I guess you don't remember that... My wall would disappear altogether sometimes... he didn't invent HipHop which is actually amazing...
- LarryMade2 12y agoHe did a great job on the TRS-80 Model 100 OS, very nice integrated environment, good UI and BASIC. I think some good or crappy developers could make great CEOs, its not how you code but how you handle decisions and manage a business. Different skills, some have it, some don't. Lets think of some developers that went on to be great CEOs; Richard Garriot (origin Systems). Nolan Bushnell (Atari). That "facebook guy" seems to do pretty well for himself and company. Also those two Google guys. I think part of it is more a desire on such developers to change gears and become more business management oriented. Some folks might enjoy the change or challenge, others might not be suited or resent not being developers anymore.
- jesusmichael 12y agoWhat... the question was not "programmers that did well" it was "Can GOOD programmers be CEOs?" The ones that have made it big were mediocre at best....