Why are CEOs failing software engineers?
I'm surprised they didn't look at Walt Disney for how to run a successful creative company.  His ideas apply equally well to software as they do to the arts.I've been watching the documentaries on Disney+, particularly The Imagineering Story (great doc BTW).  They talk about the history of the creative side of Disneyland.What you learn is that when they are simply given a budget and told "build" they thrive.  When a CFO type gets involved with Disney, suddenly their output drops, because that CEO is asking what the ROI is for everything they do.  A lot of what they do fails and has no ROI, and the people that work there start to worry about what their ROI will be before they start working.When the CEO just says "We're going to spend X% on research, here is the budget" then they thrive again.I think this is applicable to software.  When an engineer isn't asked to think about the ROI ahead of time, they are left free to come up with novel innovations.  But if they know they will be judged on ROI, they will take fewer risks.This of course is all predicated on being a profitable company.  You have to already have a good cashflow to have the freedom to say "just go create".