… WHAT IS THE FUCKING POINT of a CEO if they cannot get this one hard question right, what possible other
… use is there for them?
… and if at the end of the day the market is such that you can’t make money, you should close up shop.

Maybe the spreadsheet for the company is all blinking orange because maintenance has been skipped, the meat of the company’s business has been cut etc., but the CEO’s own spreadsheet is surely all steady green, because his pay and bonuses are paid on the dot to an offshore company in a tax haven, his pension contributions are paid full and early to a separate trust independent of how the company does, etc.; the business that a CEO looks after is his business, and running the company is what they do in their spare time, after they have sorted out themselves to their best advantage. You’ll never find a CEO who is willing to be paid 6 months in arrears, or whose pension contributions go on a “holiday”, or whose presidential vehicle’s maintenance is deferred for another 3 years. Self-dealing is what they do.

As to cutting “costs” like Neil and maintenance, there is a principle that I read on some other place, that all non-obvious accounting frauds are based on under-depreciation, and most cases of under-depreciation are not mistakes, they are accounting fraud.

Fast forward a bit and the boss wants to move the company to another country. Visa issues make it a bit complicated to move my favorite appliance with me, have to learn a new language, and its not what I agreed to when we first shook hands on the job.

But the boss admitted the above before I had to bring it up, offered to give a raise and cover all moving expenses. After the first week where he saw me do everything I said I would, no reciepts have been asked and payment has been reliable without needing any signed agreements. Everything is done on our word, man to man.

Thats why instead of telling him to fuck off, which Id do for any other faceless company, I dont mind saying why not, lets give it a shot for a few months. Who knows, it might be fun and I might learn something new.