The company founders at the startup I spent 18 years at were above average executives, but once they got their IPO and cashed out and handed off to the second CEO, we got the guy who made bad product decisions, wasted capital buying companies that didn't fit our market, and constantly called on employees to sacrifice. A permanent 'emergency mode' rapidly degrades employee morale and is a sign of failing executives, and in his case a giant hypocrite who was calling for our sacrifice while wining and dining his employee/mistress on the company dime and cheating on the wife ... which everybody knew. Some things in this industry change too slowly.