[petejansson]

While I agree with your premise about different types of work, and while I agree there's some level of clerical work required to interact with a computer, computers can do far more than clerical work, and can provide intellectual leverage when used properly. Banning a high-level executive from using something that gives them intellectual leverage holds the organization back.

[MichaelBurge]

You have to think, people - especially senior executives at fortune 50 companies - don't like being arbitrarily held back when they have a job to do. If they want to use a computer, I imagine that these ambitious people would fight the CEO tooth and nail to get access to one. Probably people on the board whom the CEO is politically motivated to please are also banned from using these computers.

People tend not to ban things before they're widely used and cause some sort of problem. I imagine there was a time at his company where his executives used computers. People would have a memory of the time before the computer ban, and compare it every day to the time after the computer ban.

These executives probably had stellar track records, had the motivation to do better, had the previous experience of using computers, had political sway, and still failed to convince the CEO.

And yet, with nothing more than a brief description of the abstract idea, and a firm belief that computers are valuable, a Hacker News commenter has been able to diagnose that it's holding their company back.

That's not to say that CEOs can't make bad decisions, but we don't even know what the company does or what they sell. Probably neither of us have worked there. It seems a little premature to rebel at his decision.

[hkmurakami]

You can delegate the non clerical tasks to your "office of the CXO type staff as well, thereby creating additional leverage.