“I do this historically. I take off for a little while and I vacation. It’s nothing new or exciting,” he said. “The roles of founders and CEOs is to get everyone engaged and give opportunities to people. And when things haven’t worked out as expected, the best way for me to recharge is to go on sabbatical.”
The only similar situation I can recall is Michael Arrington taking a break in 2009 after someone spat in his face at a conference:
The spitting incident was the last straw. I believe Arrington was truly burnt out from working like a dog for four years, and putting up with a lot of other stressful situations (Crunchpad, legal threats, etc.). And, to his credit, he came back after a month or so. It's also worth noting that he had a CEO (Heather Harde, who joined TechCrunch in 2006) still running the business.
As for Color, you can imagine what would happen if a CEO at practically any other company in a similar situation (major product failure, staff bailing, impending pivot) took off on an indefinite sabbatical for months. He or she would be out.
The only similar situation I can recall is Michael Arrington taking a break in 2009 after someone spat in his face at a conference:
http://techcrunch.com/2009/01/28/some-things-need-to-change/
The spitting incident was the last straw. I believe Arrington was truly burnt out from working like a dog for four years, and putting up with a lot of other stressful situations (Crunchpad, legal threats, etc.). And, to his credit, he came back after a month or so. It's also worth noting that he had a CEO (Heather Harde, who joined TechCrunch in 2006) still running the business.
As for Color, you can imagine what would happen if a CEO at practically any other company in a similar situation (major product failure, staff bailing, impending pivot) took off on an indefinite sabbatical for months. He or she would be out.