While I kind of agree to a degree, work output =\= value. Great managers have less work output than a single engineer, but can easily provide far more value as a whole in terms of removing roadblocks, protecting time, keeping work focused on concrete goals, etc. The same can be true at the senior leadership level as well where setting the company on the right path, executing large deals, securing new markets, etc. can easily create more overall value for the company than any one or even ten engineers.

An engineer's pay is bounded by, but not determined by, the value of what they produce. That is why even when an engineer produces a million dollar breakthrough, they don't get a million dollar bonus.

Instead, their pay is determined based on their replacement value -- how much the company would have to pay to get another engineer of comparable skill, if the first one should leave. If it is hard to find a comparable replacement, then their pay is also determined by the absolute value increase they bring relative to a less-skilled replacement. This isn't strictly true at all times but it's the guiding principle.

A CEO can likewise make decisions with billion dollar impact. But their pay should not be determined by the value of their decision-making, but rather by the price at which others would step up to take on that role, and by how much more valuable the current CEO's decisions than those that a replacement would make.

I don't personally understand why there isn't a huge pool of skilled would-be CEOs willing to run companies for a fraction of the pay of current CEOs. Probably because CEO experience is so hard to come by. The rewards are so high though that you'd think there would be more CEO boot camps. But I guess the risk of a bad CEO (whose bad decisions could sink the whole company) are considered high enough that a real track record is considered nearly priceless, and it also has huge barriers to entry.

GP was making that point sarcastically.