A CEO traveling around to meet customers isn't a bad thing. In addition, he's the co-CEO and probably left day to day operations to the real CEO.
Execs like to paint working remotely as something that is wasteful and so the common employee shouldn’t be allowed to do so, while simultaneously extolling the virtues of their remote work.
It’s reminiscent of the time I worked at one company and the chairman of the board showed up to give us a rousing speech that included the fact that he only showed up because he was going to a board meeting for another company whose board he was on in the same city. This was less than a month after one of our coworkers got shit canned after it was found out that he was moonlighting.
This is a bit ranty by the tl;dnr is that lots of jobs align with remote work and I am personally pissed that you try to frame it as ok because it’s a CEO and then in the next sentence you try to blunt the message by saying he’s just a “co-ceo” so it’s not that bad
Meanwhile, the brand of WFH HN folks want is to not leave the house and interact with real humans in person.
The only reason I said "co-ceo" is because I was responding to someone who, for whatever reason, thinks a multi-billion public company shouldn't have its CEO talk to customers.
Another commenter mentioned that people were setting up a straw man against your words but I can’t agree. You keep implying that it’s rational for c levels to be working remote and then implying that regular employees only want wfh because they are just anti social.
Your comments are heavily biased with one viewpoint and I heartily disagree with it
Why change what was said? The statement wasn't about "c levels" - it was one person who is on the road a lot meeting customers. Like a super senior sales role. That's different to team/collaboration-based roles where colocation might (just before you change this too: remember - might) well massively improve things.
You go looking outside offices, it turns out there’re people everywhere. Who knew?
You've made this statement a few times in this thread, have you considered this is nothing more than a strawman?
Same goes for meeting employees.
Is he firefighting? Why isnt he doing strategy, management and the other things CEOs do?
Like hiring a CMO or BD head to do all the traveling he is doing?
>Well, I’m a remote worker. I’ve always been a remote worker my whole life. I don’t work well in an office,” Benioff said. “It just doesn’t work for my personality. I can’t tell you why. I do love to go in to visit customers though. I’m on the road constantly visiting customers.”
Ah, so he doesnt need to do sales. He likes doing it. It just …works… for his personality.
Even on the less cynical side, there's something to be said for hearing from customers directly instead of filtered through 5 levels of middle management
There is a lot that happens at that size - one of which you should have a trust worthy team who does exactly that; its why they get paid - leadership.
His is a Saas firm. This argument is inappropriate as a defense. You can do this a few times, the rest of the time he needs to be in office.
Failing which - like elon said - its an excuse to slack off.
So its either
1) odd sales situation 2) weasel worded sentence 3) delinquency - a la Elon “people who wfh are slacking”
It’s great if it’s 1 and he fixes it, but then he has to get back to office. In which case his “i dont have an office personality” line works against him.
