OpenAI just did a boomerang firing of its CEO, Sam Altman. The press went mad as did the stock price. Their major investor and most of the staff demanded his reinstatement and got what they wanted but why? What did and does Altman bring to the company, he seems to be a venture capital manager, why does OpenAI still need him? Is the fetishisation of individuals as CEOs good or bad and what makes a good one apart from a lack of criminality.
- The Theory or expertise
- What makes a successful CEO? from McKinsey, this article points at others, and says, “But even as the times change, some fundamentals of leadership remain the same. According to our decades of work in the field and resulting insights, we know that CEOs will always be asked to set the direction, align the organization, and mobilize leaders within a company. They’re going to have to deal with boards of directors and manage stakeholders. And they have to manage themselves in a way that achieves and maintains consistent excellence.” They also have slide show The CEO journey: Finding success at every stage, part of their five minute or fifty briefing; what makes a good one, not so much as to whether they’re worth it, and they conclude with an article on CEO Excellence.
- A video called “Why CEOs fail upwards?“, I conclude, it’s a racket, there is the corporate equivilant of the Nomenklatura, they are not going to call bullshit on the over pay. This was the second inpiration to look at this issue.
- From the Harvard Business Review, What Only the CEO Can Do dated 2009 and claims to be influenced by Peter Drucker, of whom I am a fan. It has been reviewed by CNBC Here’s what CEOs actually do all day The author,, summarises the article,’The author combines his nine years’ experience as the CEO of Procter & Gamble with the last writings of the management scholar Peter Drucker to answer the question “What is the work of the CEO?” The chief executive, Lafley says, is held singularly accountable for the performance and results of the company—according not just to its own goals but also to those of diverse and often competing external stakeholders. In other words, he or she is responsible for linking the outside to the inside—a job that consists of four fundamental tasks.”‘
- And the London Business School, Are CEOs paid too much? and from the \Chicago Booth Review, Are CEOs overpaid?
- I found or more accurately google found for me a whitepaper repo at the chiefexecutive.com, the same search found, Do we overestimate the impact of CEOs on company performance? at boardagenda.com and The CEO effect: whats the value of who’s in charge on company performance? at Hogan Assessments. I then tried to narrow down on University, and hence peer-reviewed papers, I made this query.
- On OpenAI, is one man really worth it?
- OpenAI researchers warned board of AI breakthrough ahead of CEO ouster, sources say, from Reuters, I can see why a staff round robin would have an effect for a company like this, but why the CEO? The article is strong on the chronology.
- Sacking, revolt, return: how crisis at OpenAI over Sam Altman unfolded from the Guardian, again strong on the chronology.
- How bad can they be?
- What CEO resignations reveal, a comprehensive list of mainly US CEO departures with little commonality, although share price is clearly important.
- These Are The Most-Despised Tech CEOs in the Bay Area, is this the key, staff support job security?
- CEO departures 2019 at CNN, shame they didn’t make it a series, in 2023, we have Sam Bankman Fried and less recently the startup CEOs of wework and uber. With wework it’s clear that Neuman was the company.
- List of bosses are fine, but what about the 50 worst? from the FT, not so helpful, a look at Glassdoor’s best CEOs and a lament that the other end is missing.
- Is this, When your customer is VCs your product is the stock the other problem, when the company’s product becomes its stock.
We should note that the partner model developed in some businesses is the antithesis of the CEO?
I did a google query, q=partners+organisation+and+leadership, not found anything interesting although I have not looked that hard.