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0 pointspknomad1y ago0 comments

> But the people who keep the lights on at most companies especially big ones like Google are a sea of average, steady, stable employees who do their tasks and not much else, go home at 5 or maybe earlier and have no interest in burning themselves out so that the CEO can have a second private jet.

This was my moment of clarity during the pandemic. I was working insane hours and it just occurred to me then - why am I working so hard and sacrificing my health? So what if I don't work another 10 hours on top of the 90 I was already working? Is my CEO working this hard (numbers-wise)?

For me - I knew then I was content with being a C-level (probably even a D) player.

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pierrefermat11y ago

Your CEO may very well be working those hours too except for good reason since he's value aligned+ highly leveraged and able to capture the benefits from the extra work

meowfly1y ago

CEOs also just don't have the kind of work most of us do. They have tons of latitude to direct their day. They can skip meetings. They have executive assistants that they can offload much of their admin work. If they find themselves too in the weeds they can hire a COO. Being able to be self-directed changes how you perceive "work".

dangus1y ago

Exactly. From director or VP level to C-suite are people who can hire and delegate. If you’re an IC and you are drowning in work you have to live with it.

dangus1y ago

This is a misconception as well.

The perfect example of this is Elon Musk. If he’s the CEO of 5 companies, the position of CEO is clearly a part-time job.

Have you taken a vacation to go wind surfing this year? Mark Zuckerberg has!

pierrefermat11y ago

Yes at the extremes where you have sufficient leverage the hours are irrelevant, but for any pre-IPO stage CEO my statement is clearly not a misconception.

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0 pointspknomad1y ago0 comments

For me - I knew then I was content with being a C-level (probably even a D) player.

0 comments

pierrefermat11y ago

Your CEO may very well be working those hours too except for good reason since he's value aligned+ highly leveraged and able to capture the benefits from the extra work

meowfly1y ago

dangus1y ago

Exactly. From director or VP level to C-suite are people who can hire and delegate. If you’re an IC and you are drowning in work you have to live with it.

dangus1y ago

This is a misconception as well.

The perfect example of this is Elon Musk. If he’s the CEO of 5 companies, the position of CEO is clearly a part-time job.

Have you taken a vacation to go wind surfing this year? Mark Zuckerberg has!

pierrefermat11y ago

Yes at the extremes where you have sufficient leverage the hours are irrelevant, but for any pre-IPO stage CEO my statement is clearly not a misconception.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse