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Fortune has revealed a pact made by Google CEO Eric Schmidt and cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin: The three agreed, in 2004, to work together for 20 years. Two decades is an unbelievably long time in the technology world. And the thought of Schmidt still wandering the halls of the Googleplex and flying around the world chasing skirts at the age of 69 is harrowing. But the pact, no doubt strategically leaked, has a useful purpose: It reminds Google's executives and rank and file that Schmidt, as much as they might wish otherwise, isn't going anywhere. The pluses and minuses of that?

  • Pro: Knowing the CEO had made a long-term commitment to the company reinforces his authority. At AOL and Yahoo, a revolving door in the C-suite encourages employees to think they can just outwait the current CEO.
  • Pro: Investors, who so far have been amply rewarded by Schmidt's reign — barring the recent unpleasantness — may applaud the idea of him sticking around.
  • Con: At the executive level, great talent is attracted by the prospect of rising to the top. With Schmidt and Page — his predecessor and most logical successor as Google's CEO — in place through 2024, a promotion to CEO is off the table.
  • Con: Meg Whitman likes to say that no one should stay CEO for more than 10 years. Her own career at eBay suggests that the true figure is more like seven.
  • Con: The prospect of 16 more years of Schmidt's charmless hubris, witless philandering, and endless bloviating seems unbearable.