Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 289 posts

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#181

Post by listenallyall »

saagarjha wrote: post #155
listenallyall wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hypothetically, if all the CEO did was, once a quarter, take a private jet to meet a potential client in person for lunch - and just one of those 4 meetings actually landed a customer - but a $1 billion revenue customer - is that a problem for you? CEOs shouldn't be measured by hours clocked in, like a factory worker.

Most of the people on this site are not measured like that either; they're salaried employees. Nobody here is falsely claiming they work insane hours when they're spending all their time on recreation though.

What you don't seem to comprehend is that to a CEO, golf (or dinners with clients, etc) is business, not recreation.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#182

Post by [deleted] »

ceejayoz wrote: post #19
karaterobot wrote: post #10

I think it's more important for CEOs to be located in the same city as the company HQ than it is for any randomly selected employee to be. When VIPs visit the company, they expect the CEO to be present, not on Zoom. Plus, there used to be this thing where leadership had a more than tenuous connection to the legacy and culture of the businesses they ran, and even to the cities their companies were a part of. That's ha…

They'll be there when the VIPs are. > Both executives have agreed to commute frequently for their role. Starbucks will allow Niccol to use its corporate plane, and Victoria’s Secret will cover Super’s travel expenses. They'll probably be ferrying the VIPs on said jet, making a brief appearance, then golf and a fancy dinner.

[deleted]

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#183

Post by BartjeD »

zeroonetwothree wrote: post #36
hnthrowaway0315 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they know. They can't do anything about it under the current legal framework, though.

I don’t see why you should be able to do anything about this legally as an employee. As a shareholder you have more of a claim.

In the Netherlands there is work from home legislation. Legally requiring it to be allowed, where possible and reasonable.

The reasoning is that it reduces traffic and reduces stress.

This existed since 2000 ish. It has expanded since covid. I now only go to the office once every two weeks. Used to be two times a week.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#184

Post by listenallyall »

intended wrote: post #167
listenallyall wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hypothetically, if all the CEO did was, once a quarter, take a private jet to meet a potential client in person for lunch - and just one of those 4 meetings actually landed a customer - but a $1 billion revenue customer - is that a problem for you? CEOs shouldn't be measured by hours clocked in, like a factory worker.

It’s a hypothetical- so no, of course not. I will ask: why is it your CEO doing this, not your sales team? And if your CEO is doing only 4 meetings a year, why can’t they do more ? If you have a billion dollars in revenue per client, how many potential clients can you have ? Won’t they run out of work in a few years? At that point what value does the CEO add ? Will they still be going on trips for meetings which will…

The CEO does it because he's the equal of the other CEO. It shows respect. In huge deals between mega-corps, the sales team has already pitched - likely a lengthy, multi-faceted process over the course of a few months - and the CEO-to-CEO meeting is the final step to close the deal.

I'm sorry but this concept should be immediately clear, if not, you really shouldn't be discussing what a CEO should or shouldn't be doing with his time.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#185

Post by DAGdug »

ok_dad wrote: post #166
nox101 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see the opposite. Conversations that used to happen in ear reach so I'd know what was going on with various team members and be able to contribute when I knew a solution are now conversation that happen in private chat or private VC. Productivity is way down. Even more interesting, a team lead lives in another country 6 times zones away. Some times they visit the main office for 1-2 weeks. Productivity shoots throu…

Well yea, when I go on a work trip I tend to work a lot more those weeks because I’m not home. That doesn’t mean productivity during those two weeks are representative of normal.

It’s the local team, not the traveling team lead, that’s being spoken of here.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#186

Post by theshackleford »

nradov wrote: post #101
davidmurphy wrote: post #37

Workers should not return to the office. WFH or remote work should be permanent for all -- CEOs and low level staffers.

Should workers also not return to the farm, the factory, the mine, the hospital? Flexible work arrangements are great but it's only a tiny fraction of the privileged laptop class who even potentially have the option of remote work.

> it's only a tiny fraction of the privileged laptop class who even potentially have the option of remote work.

I have friends who are doctors. They chose their specialties not out of passion, but because of the lifestyle perks that come with them—benefits unique to their profession. Their entire education and career choices were driven by a desire for those perks. Similarly, I transitioned to an IT career to pursue the lifestyle advantages it offers. Which was not the same perks or lifestyle advantages they were looking for.

Regarding farming: I was a farmer myself, working our own farm (pork and stud cattle) as well as a farmhand on others. Farming is an incredibly flexible role, and for many, it involves working from home because the farm is the home. I’ve been doing "WFH" since childhood.

Many people choose farming or stay on family farms because they enjoy the unique perks it offers—just like those who pursue "laptop class" work for its lifestyle benefits.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#187

Post by swader999 »

kolbe wrote: post #159
saagarjha wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, the "if you're truly right clearly you would be rich using that information to trade" argument. Would you be willing to consider that the market is not always smart or a good measure of how we should value things?

Would you be willing to consider that some half baked theory about why CEOs are the manifestation of luck is actually just an unhealthy way of coping with failures?

More like survivor bias. For every eBay, amazon, Starbucks ceo, there's a multitude of failures that weren't as good or lucky.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#188

Post by swader999 »

theshackleford wrote: post #186
nradov wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should workers also not return to the farm, the factory, the mine, the hospital? Flexible work arrangements are great but it's only a tiny fraction of the privileged laptop class who even potentially have the option of remote work.

> it's only a tiny fraction of the privileged laptop class who even potentially have the option of remote work. I have friends who are doctors. They chose their specialties not out of passion, but because of the lifestyle perks that come with them—benefits unique to their profession. Their entire education and career choices were driven by a desire for those perks. Similarly, I transitioned to an IT career to pursue…

A lot of my farming buddies ski all winter. Every job has its good and bad aspects, to call someone who chose and attained a spot in a particular field priveleged is ridiculous. (not directed at parent comment)

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#189

Post by theshackleford »

saagarjha wrote: post #158
llm_trw wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's difficult to explain to people how much it sucks to be on call 24/7 forever. Yeah, I've done less than two hours of work, but that doesn't mean I had 22 hours of free time.

Are you actually on call? Like, do you have a beeper next to you? Will you suffer consequences if you don't respond? There is "oh things aren't going great I guess I need to cut my vacation to Austria short" and then there is "I cannot go out for drinks, I cannot take a nap, I must have my company laptop with me and with good Wi-Fi" on-call. Oh, and for the latter you're getting paid a few hundred an hour at best. Ju…

> Oh, and for the latter you're getting paid a few hundred an hour at best. Just putting that out there.

Some may receive compensation of this nature, many more may not. You are making wild assumptions. Just putting that out there.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#190

Post by listenallyall »

brianleb wrote: post #113
listenallyall wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hypothetically, if all the CEO did was, once a quarter, take a private jet to meet a potential client in person for lunch - and just one of those 4 meetings actually landed a customer - but a $1 billion revenue customer - is that a problem for you? CEOs shouldn't be measured by hours clocked in, like a factory worker.

You're absolutely right. CEOs (and other execs) need measurable workload, just like the rest of their staff. If you're not measuring it, is the CEO landing deals, or are they just playing golf with other members of the managerial class? The inquiring mind wants to know.

Get over it. Until you earn yourself a seat on the board, your inquiring mind will likely remain inquiring. Not sure why you expect that the CEO needs to justify his/her schedule to rank-and-file employees.
Post reply on HN