Most top level legendary CEOs, could. Zuckerberg, Gates, Jack Welch, Edison, Larry Page, Sergey Brin all worked their way up from the floor to the corner office.

>>At certain points things need to be let go of if you want to keep growing.

This is how you arrive at the situation Boeing is currently. Im sorry but not all businesses have a cookie cut text book way of running things. In fact running any business worth its salt will require you to know the skills at the floor level in a very deep sense.