[jpdoctor]

> Most of the large companies I've worked with are missing somebody in the "air-traffic controller" role.

I've worked for 3 large companies, and have had the opposite experience. The problem is that everyone is trying to be an air-traffic controller. So much so, that honest work is being avoided.

[velshin]

Deep corporate hierarchies encourage politics and associated power struggles. Part of moving up in that environment is to have others perceive you as an "air-traffic controller" of a segment of the company, a master of your domain. This sometimes results in people in "manager" roles with 1 or 2 direct reports, where the "manager" does no actual work, but spends inordinate amounts of time coordinating with other teams or politicking. Honest work avoided.

I'm not excusing that behaviour but if you've spent enough time at a big company, you'll see motivations for it.

Contrast that to pg's air-traffic controller role in the YC network, providing value to all the startup people he connects.

It will be interesting to see how well pg's positive influence scales as YC continues to grow.

[yajoe]

One reason for this is that many companies review and reward employees based on their "influence" or "visibility" -- what better way to maximize both than be in the air-traffic controller role?

I can attest to this firsthand at both Microsoft and IBM.