Are Two C.E.O.s Better Than One? (Update)

两位首席执行官是否胜过一位?(更新)

Freakonomics Radio

2025-10-29

47 分钟
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单集简介 ...

Spotify, Oracle, and Comcast have each recently announced they’re going with co-C.E.O.s. In this 2023 episode, we dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and Garfunkel, and bears versus alligators.     SOURCES:Jim Balsillie, retired chairman and co-C.E.O. of Research In Motion.Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder and C.E.O. of Atlassian.Scott Farquhar, co-founder and former co-C.E.O. of Atlassian.Marc Feigen, C.E.O. advisor.Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, professor of management studies and senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management and founding president of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute.Laurie Williams, professor of computer science at North Carolina State University.  RESOURCES:"Scott Farquhar to resign as joint CEO of Atlassian," by Jonathan Barrett (The Guardian, 2024)."Is It Time to Consider Co-C.E.O.s?" by Marc A. Feigen, Michael Jenkins, and Anton Warendh (Harvard Business Review, 2022)."The Costs and Benefits of Pair Programming," by Alistair Cockburn and Laurie Williams (2000)."Strengthening the Case for Pair Programming," by Laurie Williams, Robert R. Kessler, Ward Cunningham, and Ron Jeffries (IEEE Software, 2000).  EXTRAS:"The Secret Life of a C.E.O.," series by Freakonomics Radio (2018). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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单集文稿 ...

  • Hey there, Stephen Dubner.

  • If you follow business news, you may have noticed an interesting trend.

  • Big companies hiring not one, but two CEOs.

  • It's happening at Spotify, Oracle, Comcast, and elsewhere.

  • Why does this seem to be happening so frequently?

  • Well, one possibility, a slight possibility, perhaps.

  • is that all those people have been listening to Freakonomics Radio and an episode that we made a couple of years ago called our two CEOs better than one.

  • So we thought it might be a good time to revisit that episode.

  • And that's what we're playing for you today as a bonus episode.

  • We have updated facts and figures.

  • We're necessary, as always, thanks for listening.

  • People often ask me, where do you get the ideas for your show?

  • And I usually say something like, well, I don't have a real job.

  • This show is all I do.

  • So I spend a lot of time reading, talking to people,

  • wandering around and trying to sort out what's interesting in the world and what's under explored.

  • But occasionally, a good idea just shows up in an email,

  • like the one we received from one Zach Levine of Tampa, Florida.

  • As an entrepreneur who has started and sold several successful tech startups,

  • he wrote, I have always toyed with the idea of having a co CEO.