Some companies are clearly run better than others, this is mostly apologist nonsense.
What really goes on is that the goals of executives is different from that of people who actually do things, and paradoxically, the ones who actually do things tend to be valued the least.
Executive only needs to do a few things well but the reality is VERY few people can do those things well.
A good executive turns people into tools. You offload your problems into the minds of others and then efficiently recoup the outputs. This is far more difficult to do well than one might think. The sheer volume of things that need to be orchestrated and then mentally cataloged when you operate at that level is overwhelming for most people.
2. Be willing to take on responsibilities that you don't know how to do yet. If you're competent at the task you're working on, you're wasting your time.
3. Get to know all sorts of people throughout the organization. Not just the important people, but ordinary people working on interesting things. The important people notice that you know all the folks working on interesting things and start leaning on you to point them in the right direction.
4. Be the best in the vicinity in at least one area - the best salesman in your geographic region, the best frontend engineer on your product, the best UX designer in your department. The best has options, because everyone wants to work with them; the mediocre usually have to make do with what they're assigned to. The best usually also have management turn a blind eye when they steal time away from their main projects to work on professional development, because they're still outperforming everyone else. This becomes a virtuous cycle.
5. Volunteer for tasks that are a high priority for the organization. A lot of folks shy away from high-priority work because it's stressful; you have many powerful people breathing down your neck wanting things done yesterday. But everybody remembers who actually did that groundbreaking project, and it opens up opportunity in the future.
Some things I've noticed successful executives don't do:
1. Work 24/7. An occasional late-nighter on a critical project helps cement your reputation as a clutch player. Doing it all the time cements your reputation as a schmuck with no life.
2. Talk a lot. The best executives I know spend about 90% of their time listening and 10% talking. People who keep their mouths shut and ears open when they join an organization tend to outperform those who keep their ears shut and mouths open after about a year (it takes that long for the phonies to shake out).
3. Think of themselves in terms of one particular functional group. Being an executive is its own skillset - if you think of yourself as an engineer, or a salesperson, or a lawyer, you're artificially limiting yourself. Think of yourself as a provider of solutions - heck, doesn't patio11 give the same advice for small business owners?
4. Be cynical. It's interesting that the Gervais principle is the top comment here - there's a grain of truth to that, but if you believe it too literally you're doomed to underperforming loserhood.
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