A CEO wears many hats—scientist, investor, operator—but their primary, non-delegable function is decision-making. This role requires integrating input from a leadership team that thinks at an enterprise level, enabling the CEO to make the final call on capital, strategy, and people.

McLaren's CEO Zak Brown re-frames leadership as a service function. His primary job is to ensure his 1,400-person team has the tools, funding, and motivation to succeed. He sees himself as one employee whose responsibility is to "keep them all fed and hungry."

Dara Khosrowshahi believes that for a CEO to receive honest, unfiltered information, they must first be radically transparent. He views this as a self-defense mechanism; if leaders sugarcoat reality, employees will do the same, starving the CEO of the hard truths needed for good decision-making.

The CEO role is not a joyful or fun job; it's a high-pressure, problem-solving position. Founders who love their craft, like software engineering, often take the CEO title out of necessity to solve a larger problem and bring a vision to life, not because they desire the job itself.

Dara Khosrowshahi advises ambitious professionals to focus on working for exceptional individuals rather than seeking specific titles. Successful people create a "wake" of opportunities, allowing you to learn from the best and "free ride" their upward momentum.

Dara Khosrowshahi asserts that the most critical skill is learning to work hard, comparing it to the discipline of elite athletes who combine talent with relentless effort. He argues this skill can be cultivated and provides a compounding advantage, and it's something he aims to instill in his company and his children.

Dara Khosrowshahi manages Uber's position with a dual identity. Internally, he cultivates a startup culture where everyone feels like an underdog fighting for survival. Externally, with regulators and partners, the company acknowledges its scale and embraces the responsibilities that come with it.

An engineering background provides strong first-principles thinking for a CEO. However, to effectively scale a company, engineer founders must elevate their identity to become a specialist in all business functions—sales, policy, recruiting—not just product.

Dara Khosrowshahi advises career builders to seek three things: a boss you admire and can learn from, a role where your individual contribution is significant, and an organization whose mission has a positive impact on the world. This framework prioritizes growth and purpose over short-term compensation.