Dear SaaStr: What’s Really So Great About Being CEO?
It’s a really, really, really hard job. And yes, while some day the compensation can be significant, in the early days, your actually often one of the lowest paid folks.
But:
- You never have to work for an idiot.
- You never have to work for someone that doesn’t appreciate you.
- You get a shot at building an amazing team that can just execute at the highest level at which you’ve ever worked at, and you can all do it together, at a team. A team you want to really be a part of. There’s no other way to assemble a team like this, not really.
- You get to be friends with, and interact at a unique level, with other, and great, CEOs. Over the long term, this is really rewarding.
- You never have to look over your shoulder, if you do it right.
- You get to really own something.
Still:
- It’s 50x harder than you can imagine. At least.
- It’s all your fault.
- You can’t really ever let them see you sweat.
- You’ll almost fail multiple times until you are unstoppable, and this is really, really, really hard.
- You’ll never have a real mental break, ever. Never. Not if you are a great CEO.
- It may take a real toll on your family. And your health.
- Whatever glory there is in the role, you won’t enjoy that part, not really, not much. At least not for a really long time.
- It will permanently change you.
A bit more here: