Some wise soul once said ” The view from the top is breathtaking..simply because there is no oxygen there ” .
Now picture this for a moment- A CEO receives news of his company’s stock jumping 20% after years of strategic repositioning. Instead of popping champagne, he immediately starts making calls about potential market volatility. Meanwhile, his COO is already planning a vacation to celebrate. That’s when it hits you—CEOs don’t just work in a different league; they exist in an entirely different universe where success is never quite savored and failure is marinated in like an overnight curry. The difference? Everyone expects them to not just eat it, but ask for seconds.
Imagine this( sorry, now it has become a habit with me!!): You’re Tim Cook, steering Apple to a $3 trillion valuation. You’re a global icon, a tech messiah. But somewhere in Cupertino, Karen from accounting is pissed because the new iPhone charger doesn’t fit her old dock. “What kind of leader can’t even get a charger right?” she mutters. Welcome to the life of a CEO—where you’re either the savior of the free world or the scapegoat for every minor inconvenience. Is the CEO’s job thankless? Probably, yes. But maybe it’s because we’ve got the whole damn title wrong. Let’s tear this apart and rebuild it—with more edge, more sass, and a lot more truth.
The spectacular isolation of command-When former Tata Group Chairman, the late Ratan Tata made difficult decisions during the 2008 acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover—a move initially criticized as reckless—he later revealed he had faced “some of the loneliest moments” of his career. Despite spearheading what became one of India’s most successful global expansions, Tata confessed that the height of leadership often meant “having conviction when everyone around you thinks you’ve lost your mind.”That’s the hidden tax of the CEO role—you’re making decisions in what amounts to psychological solitary confinement. While everyone else can vent their frustrations, debate the options, and ultimately point fingers if things go south, the CEO sits alone on decision island.The board wants results, the shareholders want dividends, the employees want security, and the customers want innovation at bargain prices. And you? You just want someone to talk to who isn’t trying to sell you something, including their opinion.
The Thank-You Notes That Never Arrive-When Microsoft India‘s former CEO Bhaskar Pramanik launched massive initiatives to increase technology access in rural areas, the financial returns weren’t immediately evident. The pressure from global headquarters was intense, but he persisted. Years later, these programs have transformed opportunity landscapes for millions—but as Pramanik noted in a rare candid interview, “The congratulations for long-term vision rarely match the criticism for short-term losses.” The CEO paradox in its purest form: Get blamed immediately for quarterly misses; get credit years later for visionary leadership—maybe—if someone remembers to attribute it to you.
The Global Comedy of CEO Expectations– Mind you, this is not an Indian phenomenon alone- look at these global stories. In Japan, Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami publicly apologized and took a 50% pay cut when his company missed targets by 3%—targets that were already industry-leading. In America, he’d have received a “performance bonus” for coming close.In Denmark, Carlsberg’s former CEO Cees ‘t Hart famously held “failure celebrations” where teams presented their biggest mistakes and what they learned. When asked if he showcased his own failures, he responded, “As CEO, I don’t need a special event—my failures are celebrated by everyone, everyday, without my planning an event.”In Nigeria, Dangote Group’s Aliko Dangote built Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate while facing infrastructure challenges that would make most Western CEOs quit on day one. When asked about recognition for overcoming these obstacles, he laughed: “When something goes wrong, it’s ‘Dangote’s mistake.’ When something succeeds, it’s ‘Nigeria’s achievement.'”
The Recognition Asymmetry-When Indra Nooyi was PepsiCo’s CEO, she once mentioned that in twelve years of leading one of the world’s largest companies, she could “count on one hand” the number of letters she received from shareholders thanking her for her performance—including years when returns were exceptional. Meanwhile, complaint letters arrived by the truckload. Success as a CEO isn’t celebrated—it’s expected. Failure isn’t just criticized—it becomes your personal brand. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz put it perfectly: “As CEO, you get 100% of the blame and about 30% of the credit when things go right.”And he was being optimistic with that 30%.
Let’s get one thing straight: the CEO’s job isn’t about sitting in a corner office, sipping espresso, and signing checks. It’s about being the glue that holds the company together, the spark that ignites innovation, and the fire extinguisher when shit hits the fan. It’s about making the tough calls, owning the failures, and giving away the credit. It’s about being the North Star when the seas get rough and the punching bag when the seas get rougher. So, is the CEO’s job thankless? Only if we keep pretending it’s just about titles and corner offices.
The Myth of the Glamorous CEO Life–Sure, CEOs get paid eye-watering salaries—like Ravi Kumar Singisetti of Cognizant with his Rs 186 crore paycheck—but let’s not forget what comes with it: sleepless nights, geopolitical crises, ESG compliance nightmares, and employees who think “open-door policy” means barging in during your lunch break to complain about the coffee machine.
The Global Stage: From Bezos to Buffet-Jeff Bezos may have blasted off into space, but back on Earth, he’s dodging criticism about worker conditions and tax evasion. Elon Musk? He’s either revolutionizing industries or setting Twitter on fire—sometimes literally. Even Warren Buffet, the Oracle of Omaha himself, has had to defend his investment decisions against armchair critics who’ve never read a balance sheet. CEOs are like rock stars without the groupies—everyone knows their name, but they’re just as likely to get booed as applauded.
Should We Re-Brand The CEO? Perhaps the title itself is part of the problem. Chief Executive Officer sounds simultaneously bureaucratic and imperial—a weird mashup suggesting both paper-pushing and autocratic power. It’s little wonder people develop confused expectations.What if we reimagined the title to better reflect the role? Vision Shepherd -Acknowledges that the primary job isn’t execution (that’s what the rest of the C-suite is for) but guiding the long-term direction and protecting it from short-term pressures. Chief Paradox Navigator- Recognizes that the essence of the role is managing inherent tensions—speed vs. quality, innovation vs. reliability, growth vs. profitability—with no “correct” answer.Organizational Weather System -Reflects the reality that the CEO’s mood, focus, and priorities create the climate in which everyone operates, for better or worse. Decision Heat Shield-Admits that a key function is absorbing the criticism for necessary but unpopular choices while reflecting credit to the team.Chief Future Officer -Centers the most critical and unique aspect of the role—keeping the organization focused on what’s coming while everyone else handles what’s happening now.
If It’s Thankless, It’s Worth It– The CEO life isn’t for the faint-hearted.
It’s for the mad ones, the risk-takers, the ones who wake up at 3 AM with crazy ideas.Yes, it’s lonely, brutal, and often unfair. But the ones who push through? They change the world. So if you’re leading (or planning to), embrace the madness. Because the best leaders don’t chase applause. They chase impact.