
Do Startup CEOs Have to Be Jerks? - ytNumbers
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/11/21/Man-and-Uber-Man-Do-Startup-CEOs-Have-Be-Jerks
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jacques_chester
Availability bias tends to make these discussions confusing.

Jerks are memorable.

They create drama, which draws attention. There's a reason soap operas and
reality TV have a generous supply.

In any case, luck matters more. Without adoption, without growing up in
California at the dawn of the information age and without meeting Steve
Wozniak, Steve Jobs would've been a jerk nobody had heard of.

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mkaroumi
I would say that CEOs are straight forward and have visions. They say
something "stupid" = all people think that the CEO is a jerk. I would say that
CEOs shouldn't care too much about what other say - they should follow their
vision, which will make them "jerky".

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onewaystreet
Putting "stupid" in quotes is key, because if you are a CEO of a truly
disruptive startup, most everything you say will be called stupid right up
until you are celebrated as a genius.

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mkaroumi
But there's still a big difference between "stupid" because of the CEOs ideas
and being an "asshole" though...

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jqm
I don't think anyone can be a jerk all the time and be successful. Probably
the key is selective jerkiness. At least until you make it. Then you can
probably be a jerk as much as you like. (Not sure it's required though).

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norswap
By Betteridge's law of headlines: no. Also, common sense.

