That's kind of silly, isn't it? Altman is a college dropout who has barely ever worked and somehow fell upward into CEO positions very quickly.
His level of communication in talks and interviews is terrible, so I am genuinely confused where all this mystique comes from. He sounds like a college student being asked and talking about management.
It seems that if you have any title or personal relationship attached to you, people will listen to anything you say, and even say things or just conjure up an ora for you.
Say more.
Not sure how you can say he fell into the CEO position there.
Also at the time he was at YC it was a significantly smaller and less prestigious incubator.
Yea, impressive stuff. I'm sure that gave him a lot of experience that led to being one of the few "professional communicators who have reached the highest level of the craft".
You act like he just mysteriously found himself in executive positions when every company he's headed for a significant duration was one he founded. If you didn't even know that then you obviously know very little about him and couldn't even be bothered to do any research at all. This is a simple wikipedia search. So why are you so bothered about someone you know nothing about ?
Yes this is always a wise thing to do.
>Most of them say nice things to be likeable, not because they actually mean or will do what they say.
I disagree with this take. I mean I’m sure there’s snakes out there. What I see in life though, is that most people don’t say enough nice things, even things they genuinely feel. They hold back from calling their dad or wife and saying “I love you”. Or giving a compliment to someone on the street if you like their outfit that you can tell they put time into.
I think a lot of salespeople are just good at “opening the gates” a little.
Personally I’ve been on a quest to be less stoic when it comes to expressing joy, and I highly recommend, especially for typical computer science personalities.
OTOH the parent comment's take seems reasonable. Calling your dad and saying "I love you" because you want to be written into the will is sort of the level we're dealing with here.
My statement was directed at those who wear that mask all too well. Example, my landlord, who's in real estate and a very nice guy in person. However, he promised to do a few things and didn't do them. So his niceties where just that, nice words and nothing more. I'd rather deal with a less nice person who actually does what they said they will. With limits of course, no one likes a-holes.
I've learned to apply this to every human being. Talk is cheap.
But Sam the CEO has totally failed to manage the narrative throughout this episode. [A CEO needs to communicate better]
Surely he could have stated it was a disagreement in direction? Instead he left it open to rumours: rumours which mostly assumed the board had good reason to sack him (everyone presumed the board couldn't be that stupid plus he didn't defend himself). : Many of those rumours were extremely damaging to Sam. Even if he couldn't say a thing, he could have got other third parties to endorse him.
Nadella and Eric came out looking pretty good.
I read it in the middle of purchasing a new car in 2010, and had signed paperwork and a purchase agreement to buy car at $X. Next day I'm told "My manager won't let me sell for anything less than $X+Y", after I'd gone through all the trouble of filling out all that paperwork.
Fortunetly I'd just finished a chapter in the book outlining this EXACT sales technique, that relies on a person being more willing to go through with an action if they've committed something to it... like filling out half an hours worth of paperwork. Said no thanks, and found the exact same car an hour away at less than $X.
Haven't underestimated the impact of a salesperson since, and no longer delude myself trying to believe somehow I'm special and immune to such things.
Selling is making you want to buy the car, agreeing on a price and filling in the paperwork.
Trying to extract more money from you after you have agreed on a price is... extorsion? Fraud? But not just "selling".
Turns out this is an incredibly common car sales tactic, enough so that it was explicitly called out in the aforementioned book.
Rather than harumph about how unfair it is, I decided it was better to just learn how to play the game. Unwilling participant or not, fair or not, it's better to come prepared than feel like you're getting taken advantage of.
I don't question the (un)fairness of it, or the game; just the name.
Your guy sounds like Jerry Lundegaard
There are no qualifications to be a CEO, ultimately, except the board happens to want you as CEO.
It’s just a title.
Elon Musk has entered the chat...
For example the emerald story seems to be false. https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-father-errol-never....