Intellectual Property » Tech CEOs Employ ‘Robber-Baron’ Leadership Method

Tech CEOs Employ ‘Robber-Baron’ Leadership Method

November 24, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO - JANUARY 15:  Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs delivers the keynote speech to kick off the 2008 Macworld at the Moscone Center January 15, 2008 in San Francisco, California.  (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

The rise of tech culture has come with a distinct C-suite trend: tantrum-throwing CEOs. Writer Joshua Kendall, who authored a book called America’s Obsessives: The Compulsive Energy That Built a Nation,, compares the charisma and leadership style of Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to the robber barons of the late 19th century that ushered in the industrial age. A recent Stanford survey suggested as many as nine out of 10 tech CEOs suffer from narcissistic personality disorder and may not know how to cope with frustration without succumbing to “rage attacks.” Though some workers are alienated and defeated by verbal brow-beatings and pressure to work at a frenetic pace, those who endure it may actually be motivated to do better work through an eagerness to please, Kendall writes. But if it isn’t balanced occasionally with something kinder and gentler, he adds, eventually it wears them down.

Read full article at:

Daily Updates

Sign up for our free daily newsletter for the latest news and business legal developments.

Scroll to Top