<story><title>My Emotions as a CEO</title><url>https://ryancaldbeck.co/2021/10/08/my-emotions-as-a-ceo/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>zemvpferreira</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m sorry this person has had such a negative experience of the job. I can relate to some of it, but as a former CEO (up to a team of 20-30) I&amp;#x27;ve not felt lonely or jealous. Does he really think a desire to leave is unique to the c-suite? Apallingly out of touch.&lt;p&gt;In my experience you get what you sign up to take. As CEO of a company that&amp;#x27;s taken tens of millions in funding you a) are indepently wealthy b) have other options for fulfilling work c) can apply a massive amount of control to your everyday circumstances. Don&amp;#x27;t feel like reading 500 emails a day? Delegate more effectively. Feel lonely? Should have made some fucking true friends in your life. Feel an unbearable desire to quit? Figure it out or, you know, quit. I did.&lt;p&gt;Founder-CEO is a great privilege of a job and this self-pity party is unbecoming of a leader. You don&amp;#x27;t have to be happy all the time but you do have to face the fact you&amp;#x27;ve chosen this life again and again over many options most people will never have the privilege of having. It&amp;#x27;s not a life sentence.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>darkerside</author><text>I read your post before the article, and based on your post, the article is not at all what I expected. The author was clearly respectful and appreciative of the opportunity he was given. This was an honest appraisal of the emotions he felt during that time, which were often not positive. It&amp;#x27;s the type of vulnerability that we should probably encourage from our leaders, but we are often too immature to handle it.&lt;p&gt;Your post to me smacks of toxic positivity. It&amp;#x27;s ok to admit that not everything is great (even though we are just about all of us on this forum lucky and blessed). It&amp;#x27;s the human condition, and nobody is exempt.&lt;p&gt;BTW, you do realize he has stepped down and this is a retrospective, right?</text></comment>
<story><title>My Emotions as a CEO</title><url>https://ryancaldbeck.co/2021/10/08/my-emotions-as-a-ceo/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>zemvpferreira</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m sorry this person has had such a negative experience of the job. I can relate to some of it, but as a former CEO (up to a team of 20-30) I&amp;#x27;ve not felt lonely or jealous. Does he really think a desire to leave is unique to the c-suite? Apallingly out of touch.&lt;p&gt;In my experience you get what you sign up to take. As CEO of a company that&amp;#x27;s taken tens of millions in funding you a) are indepently wealthy b) have other options for fulfilling work c) can apply a massive amount of control to your everyday circumstances. Don&amp;#x27;t feel like reading 500 emails a day? Delegate more effectively. Feel lonely? Should have made some fucking true friends in your life. Feel an unbearable desire to quit? Figure it out or, you know, quit. I did.&lt;p&gt;Founder-CEO is a great privilege of a job and this self-pity party is unbecoming of a leader. You don&amp;#x27;t have to be happy all the time but you do have to face the fact you&amp;#x27;ve chosen this life again and again over many options most people will never have the privilege of having. It&amp;#x27;s not a life sentence.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>hn_throwaway_99</author><text>Did we read the same article? I didn&amp;#x27;t interpret it as a pity-party at all. I haven&amp;#x27;t been a CEO, but I have been in upper management, and that has been stressful enough for me to know that being a CEO is the last thing I could do.&lt;p&gt;I just thought this post was an honest discussion of one person&amp;#x27;s emotions, and I didn&amp;#x27;t feel that it was too strong one way on the positives or the negatives. If anything I found it helpful putting into context some of my own emotions that I have in leadership positions.</text></comment>