Burned out and breaking down? The hidden disease of CEOs

John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie were two of the most successful business leaders in history. Both built empires that shaped the modern world, yet their approaches to stress and workload couldn’t have been more different.

Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, was a relentless perfectionist, overseeing every detail of his empire. The sheer weight of responsibility took a severe toll—by midlife, he had lost all his hair due to stress-induced alopecia. His pursuit of control led to both extraordinary success and immense personal strain.

Carnegie, on the other hand, took a radically different path. He built the largest steel empire of his time, but instead of micromanaging, he mastered the art of delegation. He surrounded himself with trusted leaders and focused on high-level strategy rather than daily operations. The result? He amassed just as much wealth as Rockefeller, but without the physical and mental toll of being overwhelmed.

This contrast between two titans of industry is a lesson for today’s CEOs and business owners. In a world of constant demands, many leaders find themselves drowning in work, unable to switch off. The consequences are severe: burnout, poor decision-making, and a gradual erosion of both business performance and personal well-being.

The modern epidemic of overwhelm

In my work advising billionaire entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 CEOs, I’ve seen this hidden disease everywhere. Business leaders often wear their stress like a badge of honor, believing that working longer and harder is the key to success. But the truth is, chronic overwhelm is the enemy of effective leadership.

A real-life example: The CEO on the brink of collapse

One client I worked with was the owner of a multibillion-dollar family business. He was managing everything—operations, key client relationships, even approving minor expenditures. When I met him, he was exhausted, working 16-hour days, feeling like he had to carry the entire company on his shoulders.

Despite his dedication, the company was stagnating, and his personal life was in shambles. The turning point came when he finally accepted that delegation wasn’t about losing control—it was about gaining clarity. By restructuring responsibilities and hiring a capable chief operating officer, he freed himself to focus on strategy. Within a year, revenue growth accelerated, and for the first time in decades, he took a real vacation.

His experience isn’t unique. Many CEOs struggle with the same challenge—believing they have to do everything themselves. But as Warren Buffett famously says, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”

More business leaders who mastered (or failed to master) overwhelm

Elon Musk: The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is known for working extreme hours, sleeping in the office, and being involved in almost every detail of his companies. While this has led to breakthroughs, it has also caused immense personal stress and burnout.

Warren Buffett: In contrast, Buffett has long prioritized mental clarity, famously spending hours reading and thinking rather than packing his schedule with meetings. His ability to delegate and focus on the big picture has made Berkshire Hathaway one of the most successful investment firms in history.

Steve Jobs: Apple’s co-founder was a notorious perfectionist, but he also understood the power of focus. When he returned to Apple in 1997, he slashed the company’s product lines from 350 to just 10, ensuring he and his team concentrated only on what truly mattered.

The science of overwhelm: Why your brain fails under stress

Neuroscience has proven what overwhelmed leaders experience daily: stress kills performance.

Decision fatigue: The more decisions you make in a day, the lower their quality becomes. This is why Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama famously wear the same outfits every day—to eliminate trivial choices and conserve mental energy for important decisions.

Cortisol and leadership: Chronic stress floods your body with cortisol, impairing memory, creativity and problem-solving skills. Leaders who operate in a constant state of urgency make reactive rather than strategic decisions.

The “Tunnel Vision” effect: Under stress, the brain narrows focus to immediate survival, making it hard to see long-term opportunities or risks. This is why overwhelmed CEOs struggle to innovate—they’re stuck fighting fires rather than building the future.

A call to action: Take control before it’s too late

Every overwhelmed CEO or business owner I’ve worked with initially believes that pushing harder is the answer. But the reality is success doesn’t come from working yourself into the ground—it comes from learning how to optimize, delegate and strategically manage your energy.

If you recognize signs of overwhelm in yourself, don’t wait until burnout forces you to make a change. Start now. Pick one strategy from this list and implement it today.

• Delegate one task.
• Say no to one unnecessary meeting.
• Block out time for deep work.
• Set a boundary for your personal life.

The choice is yours. Will you follow Rockefeller’s path of stress and burnout, or will you take a page from Carnegie’s playbook and build a thriving empire without losing yourself in the process?

See Also

PH version of ‘Great Resignation’ 

It’s time to stop wearing overwhelm as a badge of honor and start leading with clarity, focus and balance.

Your 5 to thrive to escape the overwhelm trap