# Did CEO worship die with Steve Jobs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2016, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930 "2016-03-23T09:29:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/41 "2016-03-23T17:31:22Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I can imagine! By a B Share - $142 - and show up. You can’t get a hotel room close by at this date, but if you bring proof of ownership you can get credentialed at the door. You do have to be at the door an hour before it opens - even then don’t expect a great seat. Its really a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/42 "2016-03-23T17:36:13Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > What’s the general view on Bob Iger? Disney fans don’t like him - he’s the second coming of Eisner - which is not a good thing. That was the thing Jobs did - he combined both Apple fan worship - providing great consumer products that people are very loyal to - while returning awesome shareholder value. Loved on both ends. (His management style however, was often difficult - not everyone enjoyed his micromanagement). ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/43 "2016-03-23T17:59:41Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > So you think the tech and biz press fawn over the guys in my list more than said press fawned over the 90s guys back in the 90s? I don’t think that’s true at all. > > I think they all get less press in total re their performance as CEOs, and I don’t think they are really _fawned_ over all that much. The enthusiasm seems tepid. > > I agree that the Google guys got more worship until more recently. For awhile now, though, I have read very little about them as individuals. They were really fawned over back then, when Google Glass was the future and everything was Google-this or Google another. Sure, they didn’t have the personality cult Jobs had, but neither had most of the other names in your 90’s list. So is still Musk. I don’t think that Dell, Welch or Ellison ever got a tenth of his media following. Are you sure you just weren’t paying more attention back then? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/44 "2016-03-23T18:05:04Z")
Oh, and Zuckerberg doesn’t have these: > **[Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger Rubber Ducks - 2 Pc. | Oriental Trading](https://www.orientaltrading.com/warren-buffett-and-charlie-munger-rubber-ducks-2-pc--a2-13622414.fltr)** > > Presenting the “Oracle of Omaha”, Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, and Vice-Chairman Charlie Munger. Your rubber duck ... ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/45 "2016-03-23T18:21:47Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > They were really fawned over back then, when Google Glass was the future and everything was Google-this or Google another. Sure, they didn’t have the personality cult Jobs had, but neither had most of the other names in your 90’s list. > > So is still Musk. I don’t think that Dell, Welch or Ellison ever got a tenth of his media following. > > Are you sure you just weren’t paying more attention back then? I would agree that Google’s tech has been getting a lot of attention. I’ve heard a ton about Google glass and self-driving cars. That’s the _not_ the same as the CEO of Google getting fawned for what _he_ is doing. I haven’t heard that. I think the situation with Musk is similar: his tech is drawing a lot of attention, but I do not see him getting praised as a brilliant CEO. Another example is Twitter. Yapped about all the time. Positive and negative. I rarely hear about what individual execs are doing except getting fired. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/46 "2016-03-23T18:27:46Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I would agree that Google’s tech has been getting a lot of attention. I’ve heard a ton about Google glass and self-driving cars. That’s the _not_ the same as the CEO of Google getting fawned for what _he_ is doing. I haven’t heard that. > > I think the situation with Musk is similar: his tech is drawing a lot of attention, but I do not see him getting praised as a brilliant CEO. > > Another example is Twitter. Yapped about all the time. Positive and negative. I rarely hear about what individual execs are doing except getting fired. All of them are fairly well considered as successful CEOs. As much as the people in your 90’s list ever were, at the very least. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/47 "2016-03-23T18:31:48Z")
The gaming community held a bunch of tributes for **Satoru Iwata** , CEO of Nintendo, when he passed away last year. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/48 "2016-03-23T18:56:27Z")
I wouldn’t say that there’s ever really been a cult of “CEO worship” as such. What you had was several 1980s/1990s situations where incoming CEOs turned around, or at least claimed the credit for turning around several large companies in dire straits. That’s why Jack Welch, Lee Iacocca, Michael Eisner, etc… were/are so prominent. There’s a sort of idea that these guys were\* so good\* that they were able to singlehandedly rescue these huge companies. Since then, most CEOs have been either doing solid work in under-the-radar in traditional industries (who knows about Don Fites, Mark Hurd, Alan Mullaly or Anne Mulcahy?) or they’re more famous for being the inventors of widely used technology products (Zuckerberg, Gates, Brin/Page, and Musk) than they are for being successful CEOs. Add to that a certain skepticism of internet/technology success brought on by the late-1990s/early 2000s Internet boom, and combine it with the fact that none of them really expound on business concepts too often- they mostly pontificate about technological or socio-technical ideas, and you get a group of famous, but not really adored CEOs. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/49 "2016-03-23T19:14:49Z")
How about John Lasseter? I know Pixar isn’t strictly a tech company, and Lasseter is apparently Chief Creative Officer, not CEO (according to wikipedia), but he gets the fanboy treatment. Thing about Steve Jobs is that Apple lucked out with an incredibly successful company refocus with the iPod/iPhone, and went from being a footnote to a frontrunner. And Jobs was part of that. Except if he’d lived another decade or two, and Apple never put out another innovative product, then he’d be Bill Gates. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/50 "2016-03-23T19:19:34Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I think the situation with Musk is similar: his tech is drawing a lot of attention, but I do not see him getting praised as a brilliant CEO. I can only surmise you aren’t looking that much. Musk himself gets tons and tons of praise. Not just for Tesla, but for SpaceX, Hyperloop, etc. He is seen as an amazing visionary in the tech and business magazines. He doesn’t get Jobs-level of worship, but Apple fans are strange. Musk is definitely a lot more worshiped than Iacocca, et al. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/51 "2016-03-23T19:20:40Z")
Kevin Feige of Marvel Pictures is looked upon like a Hollywood Mogul right now. His modern structure of MCU pics and the branding he has built out - very much at the forefront of branding in the modern age. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/52 "2016-03-23T19:24:07Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I wouldn’t say that there’s ever really been a cult of “CEO worship” as such. I think it was part of a different culture of business boosterism that, as has been pointed out by others, been greatly diminished by the events of the 21st century. > [@](#): > > What you had was several 1980s/1990s situations where incoming CEOs turned around, or at least claimed the credit for turning around several large companies in dire straits. That’s why Jack Welch, Lee Iacocca, Michael Eisner, etc… were/are so prominent. There’s a sort of idea that these guys were\* so good\* that they were able to singlehandedly rescue these huge companies. Yes, good observation. I also think tech CEOs were treated differently in the 90s as well for _creating_ and not just turning things around. > [@](#): > > Since then, most CEOs have been either doing solid work in under-the-radar in traditional industries (who knows about Don Fites, Mark Hurd, Alan Mullaly or Anne Mulcahy?) Yep, I am ignorant of these. > [@](#): > > or they’re more famous for being the inventors of widely used technology products (Zuckerberg, Gates, Brin/Page, and Musk) than they are for being successful CEOs. Add to that a certain skepticism of internet/technology success brought on by the late-1990s/early 2000s Internet boom, and combine it with the fact that none of them really expound on business concepts too often- they mostly pontificate about technological or socio-technical ideas, and you get a group of famous, but not really adored CEOs. I think this is a good point! ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/53 "2016-03-23T19:26:55Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I can only surmise you aren’t looking that much. Musk himself gets tons and tons of praise. Not just for Tesla, but for SpaceX, Hyperloop, etc. He is seen as an amazing visionary in the tech and business magazines. He doesn’t get Jobs-level of worship, but Apple fans are strange. Musk is definitely a lot more worshiped than Iacocca, et al. I could be wrong. The press on Musk _seems_ different to me. He seems almost more praised as an inventor than a manager. And it seems muted to me. Which surprises me, actually. It’s a matter of perception, however. That’s why I created that list in the OP: these guys are at least candidates, so if someone says I’m wrong about them, that’s at least plausible to me. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/54 "2016-03-23T19:28:31Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Kevin Feige of Marvel Pictures is looked upon like a Hollywood Mogul right now. His modern structure of MCU pics and the branding he has built out - very much at the forefront of branding in the modern age. That’s a pretty good counter-example. I think Hollywood is a bit different, but yes, he is touted in the press as a mover and shaker who is doing the right things. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/55 "2016-03-23T19:49:59Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Oh, and Zuckerberg doesn’t have these: > > [Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger Rubber Ducks - 2 Pc. - Discontinued](http://www.orientaltrading.com/warren-buffett-and-charlie-munger-rubber-duckies-a2-13622414.fltr) Despite the fact that “Zuck the Duck” would be perfect! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/56 "2016-03-23T20:45:47Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Thing about Steve Jobs is that Apple lucked out with an incredibly successful company refocus with the iPod/iPhone, and went from being a footnote to a frontrunner. And Jobs was part of that. Except if he’d lived another decade or two, and Apple never put out another innovative product, then he’d be Bill Gates. Yep- he was moderately tech geek famous for being one of the co-founders of Apple, but what got him the real CEO “street cred” was the turnaround of Apple, and probably more than that, positioning Apple’s products as “cool” more than as technologically capable. THAT is what Jobs did that was remarkable; managed to figure out how to sell technological products as a lifestyle choice, rather than as a geeked-out decision, or as a rather utilitarian decision based on specs. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/57 "2016-03-23T23:13:09Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Yep- he was moderately tech geek famous for being one of the co-founders of Apple, but what got him the real CEO “street cred” was the turnaround of Apple, and probably more than that, positioning Apple’s products as “cool” more than as technologically capable. Some here may be too young to remember just how remarkable the turnaround was. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company was nearly bankrupt. Microsoft invested $150 million just to help keep the company alive. Wired magazine ran a cover story about the dire prospects for Apple. The title: Pray. They went from there to the most valuable company in the world, with something like $200 billion in cash and cash equivalents. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/58 "2016-03-24T03:45:17Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Some here may be too young to remember just how remarkable the turnaround was. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company was nearly bankrupt. Microsoft invested $150 million just to help keep the company alive. Wired magazine ran a cover story about the dire prospects for Apple. The title: Pray. They went from there to the most valuable company in the world, with something like $200 billion in cash and cash equivalents. And it’s almost entirely due to two products- the iPod/iTunes combo and iPhone. The other stuff like the iMac paved the way, but Apple wasn’t going to be in the position it was in without cornering the market in a couple of pieces of hardware that are indispensable in the 21st century. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/59 "2016-03-24T04:12:53Z")
The OP is talking about one flavour of CEO worship: the worship of the mega-famous billionaires. What about the founders of up-and-coming companies that are still “only” in the millions of dollars ballpark? Not so famous, but if you read an article on such a person it will invariably be gushing and with a “here’s how you can be more like this person” slant. Which is by and large a good thing. Not everyone who founds a successful start up is necessarily deserving of adoration, but it makes sense for society to generally want to emulate such success. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930/60 "2016-03-24T04:30:09Z")
Elon Musk as a person definitively gets more hero worship than anyone on your list save Steve Jobs. He was the inspiration for freaking Iron Man and he’s amassed a massive cult of personality. You may not personally be familiar with it but it’s there and it’s huge. There have been a couple of other tech notables whos stars have risen and sometimes fallen including Tony Hsieh, Gabe Newell, Jack Dorsey, Paul Graham, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ceo-worship-die-with-steve-jobs/749930.md?page=4)