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Which Tech CEO Would Make the Best President?

12 points by the_watcher 11y ago

the_watcher 11y ago
Author here. Happy to answer any questions.
- thejrk 11y ago
  Who has the best sweet potato fries?
  - the_watcher 11y ago
    My favorite of San Francisco (so far) are actually from Pacific Catch, but Roam Burger has pretty good ones. The Counter has great sweet potato fries as well, but there isn't one in the city.
jtchang 11y ago
Of course it would be Elon Musk. Who doesn't want to colonize mars?
- rezistik 11y ago
  He wasn't born in the US. He is ineligible.
  - the_watcher 11y ago
    That's true. Neither was Satya Nadella. We did this intentionally, as we were interested in who Americans felt would do the best job as president, regardless of eligibility, and when listing technology CEO's who might make a good president, it's impossible to ignore Musk.
    - rezistik 11y ago
      Don't get me wrong, Musk would be my first choice as well. He might legitimately be the best man for the job, not just among tech CEOs
6stringmerc 11y ago
Heh, kind of interesting the winner of the survey is "I don't know" by a definitive margin. Idealistically speaking, Evan Spiegel of Snapchat would be the most preferable due to understanding the fiat currency system is unsustainably dangerous, and especially in the tech sector (as noted in recent interviews / past letters). Rationally speaking, Travis Kalanick of Uber seems like the best fit because he appears an unscrupulous, vindictive and egotistical person based on his company's actions and penchant for trying to cover up any bad PR. Still laughing that "I don't know" got such a wide margin of victory.
mildbow 11y ago
I wonder how the results would change if the CEO names were removed from the questions? Side note: Id probably pick bezos(logistics) or musk(sustainable energy+space).
- the_watcher 11y ago
  Glad you mentioned this, we should have clarified a bit more clearly. We didn't show respondents an image of the CEO, just the {Company_Name} CEO {CEO_Name}.
  - mildbow 11y ago
    Sure, but demographics can be gleaned from name pretty easily too. Which is why I specifically asked about the case without the name :) It just jumped out at me because the "non-stereotypical" CEOs are the lowest rated. My gut says it would probably increase the "I don't know" count.
    - the_watcher 11y ago
      Thanks for clarifying. Just to be clear, you'd be interested to see the change in responses if the options were simply CEO of {Company Name}? And your theory is that the "I don't know" rate would rise? If so, I agree. Another potentially interesting change would be to list Elon Musk as SpaceX CEO as opposed to Tesla CEO.
      - mildbow 11y ago
        Exactly. And further, I don't think that Satya and Marissa would lag as much with the CEO of {Company Name} scheme.
viame 11y ago
Elon, no question. Just for fun: Larry is too quiet, not enough publicity. I barely see his face. Tim is just Tim .. too calm. Jeff Bezos - He should just stick to Amazon. I feel like he wants to be everywhere, just because he can. Mark - who would even suggest that. Satya ... Don't have anything on him so no. Marissa ... Same thing.
Enzolangellotti 11y ago
Brin/Page, Ellison, Bezos, Cook, Weiner, Mollenkopf. Realistically: Ellison, Cook and Mollenkopf would be top contenders.
- the_watcher 11y ago
  Thanks for the feedback! Ellison would certainly have been included were he still CEO of Oracle (He stepped down a year ago and is now Executive Chairman and CTO). We considered Weiner and Mollenkopf (as well as some others such as Marc Benioff and current Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd), but decided to limit the number of options presented to respondents, as too many choices can sometimes hurt response rate.
  - Enzolangellotti 11y ago
    Yeah, I figured out that since it was a survey, limiting the options to the most famous names was more of a necessity. IMHO I suggest you run a future survey asking about the most important qualities that a candidate should possess, just to cross validate the answers.
    - the_watcher 11y ago
      That's a great suggestion, we'll keep it in mind for followups!
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
flashman 11y ago
It will take nothing less than a few years of technocratic rule so its supporters can see that politics makes politicians the way they are, not vice versa. A tech CEO as president is a lovely fantasy about somebody smart, from outside traditional political structures, with a pragmatic bi- or non-partisan approach. It is just Messiah-seeking, or the idea that "I could do better" projected onto a personal hero. Politics assimilates everyone and everything. Within that framework, it hardly matters which tech CEO is president.

12 points by the_watcher 11y ago

the_watcher 11y ago

Author here. Happy to answer any questions.

thejrk 11y ago
Who has the best sweet potato fries?
- the_watcher 11y ago
  My favorite of San Francisco (so far) are actually from Pacific Catch, but Roam Burger has pretty good ones. The Counter has great sweet potato fries as well, but there isn't one in the city.

jtchang 11y ago

Of course it would be Elon Musk. Who doesn't want to colonize mars?

rezistik 11y ago
He wasn't born in the US. He is ineligible.
- the_watcher 11y ago
  That's true. Neither was Satya Nadella. We did this intentionally, as we were interested in who Americans felt would do the best job as president, regardless of eligibility, and when listing technology CEO's who might make a good president, it's impossible to ignore Musk.
  - rezistik 11y ago
    Don't get me wrong, Musk would be my first choice as well. He might legitimately be the best man for the job, not just among tech CEOs

6stringmerc 11y ago

Heh, kind of interesting the winner of the survey is "I don't know" by a definitive margin. Idealistically speaking, Evan Spiegel of Snapchat would be the most preferable due to understanding the fiat currency system is unsustainably dangerous, and especially in the tech sector (as noted in recent interviews / past letters). Rationally speaking, Travis Kalanick of Uber seems like the best fit because he appears an unscrupulous, vindictive and egotistical person based on his company's actions and penchant for trying to cover up any bad PR. Still laughing that "I don't know" got such a wide margin of victory.

mildbow 11y ago

I wonder how the results would change if the CEO names were removed from the questions? Side note: Id probably pick bezos(logistics) or musk(sustainable energy+space).

the_watcher 11y ago
Glad you mentioned this, we should have clarified a bit more clearly. We didn't show respondents an image of the CEO, just the {Company_Name} CEO {CEO_Name}.
- mildbow 11y ago
  Sure, but demographics can be gleaned from name pretty easily too. Which is why I specifically asked about the case without the name :) It just jumped out at me because the "non-stereotypical" CEOs are the lowest rated. My gut says it would probably increase the "I don't know" count.
  - the_watcher 11y ago
    Thanks for clarifying. Just to be clear, you'd be interested to see the change in responses if the options were simply CEO of {Company Name}? And your theory is that the "I don't know" rate would rise? If so, I agree. Another potentially interesting change would be to list Elon Musk as SpaceX CEO as opposed to Tesla CEO.
    - mildbow 11y ago
      Exactly. And further, I don't think that Satya and Marissa would lag as much with the CEO of {Company Name} scheme.

viame 11y ago

Elon, no question. Just for fun: Larry is too quiet, not enough publicity. I barely see his face. Tim is just Tim .. too calm. Jeff Bezos - He should just stick to Amazon. I feel like he wants to be everywhere, just because he can. Mark - who would even suggest that. Satya ... Don't have anything on him so no. Marissa ... Same thing.

Enzolangellotti 11y ago

Brin/Page, Ellison, Bezos, Cook, Weiner, Mollenkopf. Realistically: Ellison, Cook and Mollenkopf would be top contenders.

the_watcher 11y ago
Thanks for the feedback! Ellison would certainly have been included were he still CEO of Oracle (He stepped down a year ago and is now Executive Chairman and CTO). We considered Weiner and Mollenkopf (as well as some others such as Marc Benioff and current Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd), but decided to limit the number of options presented to respondents, as too many choices can sometimes hurt response rate.
- Enzolangellotti 11y ago
  Yeah, I figured out that since it was a survey, limiting the options to the most famous names was more of a necessity. IMHO I suggest you run a future survey asking about the most important qualities that a candidate should possess, just to cross validate the answers.
  - the_watcher 11y ago
    That's a great suggestion, we'll keep it in mind for followups!

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

flashman 11y ago

It will take nothing less than a few years of technocratic rule so its supporters can see that politics makes politicians the way they are, not vice versa. A tech CEO as president is a lovely fantasy about somebody smart, from outside traditional political structures, with a pragmatic bi- or non-partisan approach. It is just Messiah-seeking, or the idea that "I could do better" projected onto a personal hero. Politics assimilates everyone and everything. Within that framework, it hardly matters which tech CEO is president.