Sir, I tip my hat in your general direction. That was, as they say, a cracking joke.

25000, 55000, 200, 2100 employees.

Maybe true in general. I’d love to hear about your experiences. I’ve worked closely to four CEOs. Only one of them felt like they treated people as objects. The rest were actually deeply concerned about how other people felt.

Not just that - it confuses several financial terms.

CAPEX is one time spend. Revenue is recurring. Take Microsoft, as just one example: They are stuffed with cash abroad - they only bring it home when there’s a moratorium; until then it just sits and waits. It’s much cheaper for Microsoft to spend it outside the US than to take it home - CAPEX that can happen outside the US is often welcomed by the big stock owners as it puts the money to work.

Revenue happens every year. It’s like saying “is this banana stand profitable?” and then answering by saying “well the shed cost 10 dollars and the bananas sell for 5c”. You need more information to understand whether those are good or bad numbers.

And I know - there’s always money in the banana stand!

Some CEOs I’ve met aren’t smart.

The vast majority that I’ve worked with are deeply analytical, highly intelligent and understand people really well. By any measure they are “very smart”.

But what all CEOs are, like most people who get to that level, is incredibly disciplined and willing to sacrifice almost anything to achieve at work. They work insane hours, at least all the ones I’ve seen.

It’s a nice story that it’s just a lottery and once you’re there you’re somehow in some secret club. The reality, at least as far as I’ve seen it, is very different.

No he is not. The people who vote for him couldn’t give a shit, they just want “brown people out of the country” and head to the sunlit uplands where The Empire still rules and we were a superpower, instead of a failing state with a economy in tatters.

Of course! Employees shouldn’t be conducting business on their private phones anyway!

China iterates. China wins. Look at EV, solar, etc.

The rate of change in their eco system certainly does not justify the price they’re charging. Still, an IPO looms and business gotta business, so here we are. Ready for those stock options to tank and the boat to sink.

That is impossible without a China-level snooping apparatus. And even then it’s only partly possible. This is law made by dumb people.

CEO: I need the highest possible performance otherwise the board will fire me.

Board: We need the highest return otherwise we’re not willing to support the CEO.

Fund managers: We need to only invest in the most profitable ventures, otherwise people will move their money out of the fund I’m managing.

Pension companies: We need to only put our money in the most high performing funds.

You: I need the best return on my pension so I can retire as soon as possible.

If you’ve ever moved saved money to an account offering higher interest or performance, you’re part of this. I’m not saying that to blame, but people often don’t connect their own behaviour with the behaviour of the market.

They all do, eventually.

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