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You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

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Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

#91

Post by mbreese »

koide wrote: post #16
michael_nielsen wrote: post #2

Seems appropriate to quote an old HN comment ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3905794 ): "After the first night of the 2008 SciFoo conference at Google, @gnat Torkington's twitter stream contained a gem: 'At SciFoo opening session. 300 people standing around networking. Meanwhile, Larry Page is quietly unpacking chairs at the back of the room.' (from memory, not exact)" The CEO (or any leader)'s job is to make s…

I get very upset when junior employees try to keep me from doing the 'dirty work' I'm preparing to do or already doing. I'm not sure where this whole nonsense of "people who lead can't get dirty or do menial work" comes from. If I had something more important to do for sure I would have delegated, but seeing that I didn't, ask why is this particular thing important or, at most, offer help. Don't tell me I shouldn't b…

Are you any good at it? Maybe they don't want you to do it for a reason :)

Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

#92

Post by [deleted] »

kevinalexbrown wrote: post #64

"In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility. " Benjam…

[deleted]

Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

#93

Post by dpe82 »

My company went through TechStars this Spring and on Friday closed a respectable seed round. On Sunday I was scrubbing the floor in our office.

Being a startup CEO is glamorous only in the movies or in overly hyped bits and pieces. It doesn't completely suck, it's awesome at times and on average is more interesting than anything else I've done. But worthy of sharing intimate details as if I'm some amazingly interesting creature to be worshiped and followed? Please.

Customers make a successful company, not CEOs.

Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

#94

Post by davidandgoliath »

smiler wrote: post #26

Seriously, does anyone take anyone seriously who calls themselves CEO, CTO or CFO of a 5 man company? How about owner or founder. Maybe it's a cultural thing but here in the UK we'd definitely laugh at someone calling themselves that unless it was a company of a considerable size.

It's merely a difference in titles -- in the UK it's often 'managing director' or some variant. Here in North America, it's CEO. Size is irrelevant: it just so happens that is the title on my shares, thus I adhere to it.

I go by 'Chief Nerd Wrangler' nonetheless, as it's more appropriate of a job description. It still doesn't make it any less of a janitorial position.

Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

#96

Post by chernevik »

sp332 wrote: post #90
kevinalexbrown wrote: post #64

"In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility. " Benjam…

Humility isn't thinking poorly of yourself, humility is not thinking of yourself at all.

Yes. More from Mr. Lewis:

". . . . a man is not usually called upon to have an opinion of his own talents at all, since he can very well go on improving them to the best of his ability without deciding his own precise niche in the temple of Fame."

Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

#97

Post by flocial »

I love this post. We romanticize startups too much and I've seen too many people drunk on cheap venture capital and a C-level title on their business card.

Some of it is inevitable because if we saw what being a CEO really is then less people would try it. Being a CEO is always hands on. You can't just manage from behind with a small team. Dave McClure recently said something like, "if you're the CEO and can't code, market, sell, or design then fire yourself now or we will."

Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

#98

Post by munin »

all this talk about pride is hilarious. if you're the CEO of a startup or small company, you're not working for a paycheck - you're working for a payout of millions of dollars.

I'll do the dishes if it leads indirectly to a $1.2bn exit. I'd do them twice.

Re: You're not the CEO - You're the Fucking Janitor

#100

Post by rlu »

notatoad wrote: post #70
smiler wrote: post #26

Seriously, does anyone take anyone seriously who calls themselves CEO, CTO or CFO of a 5 man company? How about owner or founder. Maybe it's a cultural thing but here in the UK we'd definitely laugh at someone calling themselves that unless it was a company of a considerable size.

My boss (at a 3 person company) calls himself the president. I laugh at him for it, but ultimately I can't really criticize. Solo founder is a hard job, and if you're doing it why shouldnt you be able to call yourself whatever the hell you want? It's not like there are a whole lot of other perks, and what's the harm?

The harm is it often comes with a bad attitude, whether on purpose or not.
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