The Wrong Narrative: Why Calling Out CEOs on Remote Work Misses the Bigger Picture

Massive backlash against Jamie Dimon on his candid speech on remote work (no surprises here).

A few comments called out that he has a “private pilot to fly them around.”

This is the wrong way to look into the B2B perspective.

1. J.P. Morgan has multiple jets, not “one dedicated to the CEO.”

2. Flying “around” to do high ticket business is a corporate investment that pays off more often than not.

3. Other global leaders do the same – Mark Benioff flying all the time to meet Fortune 500 clients – and even sitting in pitch meetings to close them – has been going on for 2 decades.

4. Proximity to the office is a choice. Of course, it’s riskier and not always convenient, but very few corporate buildings are detached far, far away from housing.

5. A CEO is not “bound” to spend the full day at the office – just as field sales reps aren’t, or event managers.

6. Top-tier executives don’t work regular business hours. Unlike other Mon-Fri FTEs who can’t be found over the weekend.

I get it – remote work is great as an employee, provides all the flexibility in the world, it allows for flexible days, it captures the extra family time, waking up later, no commute and traffic and all that.

The arguments around on-site vs. remote vs. hybrid will last forever – and they depend on the stage of a company, its culture, and how defensible it is. Saturated red ocean markets prioritize efficiency and collaboration for a multitude of reasons.

But calling out leadership is the wrong narrative.

Executives are expected to:

– work around the clock
– engage in R&D and innovation
– sit in strategic meetings with other org leaders
– join private corporate clubs and “masterminds” to network with other executives
– same for executive events
– work with advisors and strategists assessing operational efficiency or management practices

This is only achievable if the organizational efficiency is high enough to carry over the work week by week and keep churn lower.

As these two factors get impacted, restructuring is bound to happen – and re-training staff across the world is not the most effective way to bring a corporation into the new age.