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CEOs Get Paid Too Much, Says Everyone

NewtonTrino said:
All of a sudden a lot of CEO's move to luxemburg. Or wherever the tax rate is less.

Hmmm Luxemburg or Grand Cayman. Maybe best to hedge and buy places in both and just keep the jet warmed up...
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So they're going to flee America to avoid a 50% rate? Is that what happened when the marginal tax rate was well over 70%?
 
Lorentz said:
I'd be very surprised if any CEO of a large company ever lay awake at night worrying if the customers were benefitting enough. Lying awake worrying about corporate politics or irksome legislation, yes. Responsibility towards customers or employees? Pshaw.
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Wow, this is the complete opposite of most entrepreneurs and CEO's that I know. I've seen a relentless focus on creating value through making a lot of customers happy. Perhaps it's the nature of the business I'm in but I've always thought putting the customer first and treating them like you want to be treated is a key to success.
 
Fudbucker said:
So they're going to flee America to avoid a 50% rate? Is that what happened when the marginal tax rate was well over 70%?
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Just to be clear I was joking about the moving thing. Like ha ha, next they'll move to luxemburg ha ha ;)

I don't think most rich people care that much about top marginal rates. Not to mention US citizens have to pay taxes no matter where they live etc etc.
 
Cl1mh4224rd said:
...to mean "since you're not forcing me to pretend to care about the best interests of you and/or the company, **** y'all" (i.e. a sociopath).
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Aren't sociopaths extremely common in CEO positions?
There was some research, I recall.
 
NewtonTrino said:
Wow, this is the complete opposite of most entrepreneurs and CEO's that I know. I've seen a relentless focus on creating value through making a lot of customers happy. Perhaps it's the nature of the business I'm in but I've always thought putting the customer first and treating them like you want to be treated is a key to success.
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I think that in small companies where the CEO is also the guy who originally started the business, this is true. Once a company is big enough to have a proper board of directors and shareholders, I think that very often the focus changes. Probably because the CEO is no longer the guy who actually started the business, but instead some suitably qualified suit who the board think will be able to maximise profits.
 
Lorentz said:
Aren't sociopaths extremely common in CEO positions?
There was some research, I recall.
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I can't imagine a sociopath climbing the corporate ladder well. Narcissists, yes, but not sociopaths.

On the other hand, one characteristic of sociopaths is that they can lie very easily, and I think most ladder climbers have at least a little bit of that tendency, so if the research was real, then that might be what they were picking up on.
 
Meadmaker said:
I can't imagine a sociopath climbing the corporate ladder well. Narcissists, yes, but not sociopaths.

On the other hand, one characteristic of sociopaths is that they can lie very easily, and I think most ladder climbers have at least a little bit of that tendency, so if the research was real, then that might be what they were picking up on.
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Here's an article that cites a few of those studies:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/drishtikone/2013/10/are-ceos-and-entrepreneurs-psychopaths-multiple-studies-say-yes/
 
Meadmaker said:
I can't imagine a sociopath climbing the corporate ladder well. Narcissists, yes, but not sociopaths.

On the other hand, one characteristic of sociopaths is that they can lie very easily, and I think most ladder climbers have at least a little bit of that tendency, so if the research was real, then that might be what they were picking up on.
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Yes.
From what I've read, the CEO/psychopath correlation has not been demonstrated strongly enough to be cited in a scientific journal.

Robert Hare, himself, has said that his checklist test should be considered valid only if administered by a suitably qualified and experienced clinician under scientifically controlled and licensed, standardized conditions.

For instance, suppose a jerk-headed teenager is constantly running into trouble with the law. His poor impulse control causes problems in school and family life. He decides he wants to change and joins the military. Between training, aging a few years, learning to set and achieve goals, he eventually leaves the military to become a productive member of society. He decides to start a company and devotes great amounts of time to its success. He is very focused. He uses his cunning and charm to improve his business contacts. In this case, if the man were simply given a test about whether or not he has done the things on the psychopath checklist, he may end up with a high score. But that doesn't mean he is a psychopath. An experienced and qualified clinician would be able to put the checklist answers into context and see that this man is not some uncaring, unfeeling would-be murderer.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
Of course, 20,000 people don't pay to watch you teach class.
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They should - I'm awesome.

As a college sports fan, I'm totally down with the supply and demand of sports viewership leading to high coaches' salaries. (In contrast, this makes many of my colleagues apoplectic.) The part that bugs me is just how high those salaries have gotten, especially relative to the stagnation of faculty salaries.
 
Lorentz said:
Here's an article that cites a few of those studies:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/drishtikone/2013/10/are-ceos-and-entrepreneurs-psychopaths-multiple-studies-say-yes/
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First of all, sociopaths and psychopaths are not the same thing.

Second, you wondered if sociopaths were "extremely common" among CEOs. The blog you cited referred to studies that show an incidence of psychopathy equal to 4% of CEOs.

Third, that's some really bad research there. Well, the underlying research might be quite good, but the blog reporting is terrible. For those not inclined to click the link, it begins by noting that entrepreneurs tend to start businesses, which fail, and then they start a new one. Criminals tend to commit crimes, get caught, and commit more crimes. Therefore entrepreneurs and criminals have something in common.

The rest is only slightly better.

Now, it is perhaps true that the obsession that drives an entrepreneur may have some sort of the same psychological underpinnings that result in anti social behavior, and it might be that the research the blog refers to discussed those similar underpinnings, but any conclusion beyond that, even including the claim that 4% of CEOs are psychopaths, is way beyond what is supported in the blog.
 
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