A tiny example I heard: he overheard an employee (who was working on some urgent project he parachuted into) complaining that it was hard working late in this particular office because the closest microkitchen had slim pickings by the end of the day. He stops the conversation and asks a few followup questions. For the rest of the project it was always fully stocked with all the best snacks and drinks, milk and cereal always topped off, fruit always available, etc. I don’t remember the exact details (it’s been a decade since I heard this story) but I remember thinking it went above and beyond what I had available close to my own desk. They thought the dinner spread at the closest cafeteria got better too, but they didn’t know if it was a coincidence or if he made it happen.
I’m sure there’s a ton of the “the boss said something and we’re overreacting” effect. But so much of Google has ossified and slowed that I’m sure it’s also helpful to have a walking sudo command to make the org work for you.
