I have never cared much about titles—it did not bother me who had the title so long as I ran the company.

Power moves quietly, titles loudly

There's something oddly liberating in not needing the official recognition. Most of us are taught early that the title is the prize—the corner office, the business card upgrade, the credential that proves we've made it. But Firestone points at something people often discover only after chasing titles for years: the actual influence and satisfaction come from the work itself, not the label attached to you.

Think about the teams you've seen where the real leader isn't always the one with "Manager" on their email. Sometimes it's the person who knows how things actually work, who people naturally follow, who shapes decisions whether or not they have formal authority. That person often sleeps better than the titled executive spending energy defending a position. The irony is that when you stop obsessing over who gets credit or recognition, you often end up with more real power—because people trust you're not playing politics.

This doesn't mean titles don't matter in practical terms; they open doors and come with paychecks. But there's a useful reframing here: if your actual goal is to build something, influence outcomes, or make things work better, fighting for the title might be the distraction. The people who genuinely run things usually got there by focusing on the running part first.