Non-Technical Managers in a Technical Company?

Futurepower(R) asks: "Before he was hired, Steve Jobs of Apple told John Sculley he was a sugar-water salesman, and perhaps should have listened to his own words. Under Chairman and CEO Louis V. Gerstner, Jr, IBM did well, but was that only because the world needs a global computer service company? Was IBM technically advanced during his tenure? In your experience, can managers with little technical knowledge successfully run a technically-oriented company?" What qualities would such a manager need to keep a tech company healthy?

Comments

Re:Essentials

[Baron of Greymatter]

The real-world CEO:

* Has no vision at all. He takes his marching orders from the Board of Directors, who represent the stockholders.

* Surrounds himself with yes-men who tell him what he wants to hear.

* Listens? To what? He's the CEO and makes all the important decisions.

* Rewards himself when someone comes up with a good idea. His employees' performance is supposed to make him look good.

* Mandates sycophancy.

* Juggles the books if necessary to increase the stock proce. His job, by law, is to maximize shareholder value. Period.

* Is above criticism. He's the boss, after all. He wouldn't have achieved his position by being a complete f**k-up, would he? :-D

* Loves the squabbles between his managers. Makes him look that much better. He'll just fire one of them (probably the technical guy).

* Has his golden parachute ready when the s#!t hits the fan. The layoffs and the collapse of the company are his successor's problem. Meanwhile, he leaves with a $20,000,000 severance package.