The myth of the tech god is crumbling

In the past couple of weeks, it’s become clearer than ever that the myth of extreme competence is just that – a myth. The collapse of FTX, the mass layoffs, the rapid unravelling of Twitter – all have put a huge dent in the notion that tech companies are led by anyone other than mere mortals. — Image by Freepik

Tech is full of smart people who build, run and invest in successful companies that have produced a tremendous amount of innovation. But the industry’s recent spate of failures and reversals has made one thing clear: Many of its leaders aren’t as smart as they thought they were.

Just this month, a pair of the world’s mightiest tech names, Amazon.com and Facebook parent Meta Platforms, announced broad layoffs after years of breakneck hiring. Another giant, Google parent Alphabet came under pressure from an activist investor to slash its costs.