> 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.
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
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".
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.
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.
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.