My friend Larry Robbins died last Wednesday, apparently of karoshi. He was 52 years old.
Larry’s death by overwork was self-inflicted. He was the sort of person who constantly looked for what wasn’t being done that he could do. The universe being what it is, his attitude gave Larry an infinite pile of work.
He figured if he just shoveled hard enough and well enough he could clear the pile.
What if the CEO had no authority?
Take it a step further: What if you had no authority either? Same job, same responsibilities. You gauge success the same way you gauge it today. The only difference is that you can’t exert your authority and make it stick.
How much would change? Very little, I hope. Those who frequently rely on their authority to make decisions and make them stick are “leading” (in quotes because they aren’t leading in any meaningful sense of the term) a dispirited collection of unmotivated second-raters whose hearts aren’t in their work and heads aren’t in the game.
