
Ask HN: How does an engineer turn into a CEO? - archagon
I personally have little interest in running a company, but I’m fascinated by people such as John Carmack, Tim Sweeney, and Chris Lattner who start out as engineers or students and eventually land executive roles. To me, these seem like entirely different professions, so I’m mystified by how natural the progression looks from the outside. I’m a programmer, and I feel that my skills and interests simply would not translate to managing people and organizations. Anyone here gone down this road? Could you describe your shift in mindset over the years?
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gigatexal
I don’t know exactly but when you do become CEO assuming you’re currently an
engineer or to anyone who reads this as an engineer with hopes of helming a
company one day: please, please don’t think of your fellow engineers who are
now your employees as merely inputs to a problem. We are people. We have
desires. Hopes. Dreams. Families. So think about that when discussing
timelines, deliverables, and goals. Basically just treat them as you would
hope your boss would treat you. If you convey the mission and idea of what
you’re trying to do and surround yourself with engineers equally as enthused
things will work out. Be a working boss in the trenches. Hell, write code with
your engineers if you can until the company gets too big like Bill Gates did
before Microsoft exploded in growth.

