There is a survivor bias that plagues old-economy CEOs and their shareholders. My nightmare job is the “invisible until you fuck up” position. These jobs are everywhere: IT, corporate treasurer, auditor, air traffic controller, nuclear power plant operator, county elevator inspector, TSA officer. You’ll never be famous, but you have a small, and terrifying, chance of being infamous. CEOs of successful old-economy firms have a similar bias—they are “rich until they fuck up.”
