It's hard for me not to believe every tech leader in this room is thinking, "This guy is a total idiot. I can't believe I have to sit here and kiss his ass. What a total waste of my time. But a CEO has to do what a CEO has to do...how can I take advantage of this mess."
That would be the case if CEO do not routinely waste innumerable hours on so many meetings, lunches, events etc with so many idiots filling the room. But may be "No punching down" theory demand to not call those people idiots.
