Thanks for this great perspective. I still think the biggest damage in PG post is the creation of this new stereotype: the Faker. Ambiguous, vague, the Faker is the perfect new scapegoat, the new ad hominem to counter the pointy-hairy boss.
Thanks for bringing up the idea of survival - it made me think of how parents can access unparalleled strength if they feel their kids are in danger, but cannot live like (and perform like) their offspring is perennially in danger...
My thoughts (mostly) but a lot more elegantly presented! Thank you!
I think what is essential for a founder CEO's is to be engaged, and not confuse empowerment with abandonment (which is easy to do for the young founder without much experience). Engaging people, asking questions, learning about the reasons for one or the other decision is not micromanaging. It conveys that CEO is engaged and interested. It also gives an opportunity to spot and prevent consequential bad decisions.
It’s not your fault but this is actually a bad take. Why? Because it is a post off of another post that was heard in first person. Although I wasn’t there myself Brian Chesky gave an earlier version of his speech here on Lenny’s Podcast. Lenny use to work at Airbnb and I felt Brian Chesky may of been more open about things at the company. A gist was that the company became siloed as more and more people joined leadership. This created not only a bottleneck but also a power grab culture of mid managers. “Founder Mode” is a remedy to these problems because you need a higher power to 1. Keep leadership moving in a shared direction. 2. Free up any productivity blockages in the company. 3. Stop separate power blocks from forming in the company. That’s why Paul wrote an essay and why he said Ron Conway was listening at full attention. Here’s a link to the podcast video.
Great insights! The founder mode tradeoff is a crucial concept—balancing visionary thinking with operational execution is no easy task. It's about knowing when to zoom in on the details and when to step back and focus on the bigger picture. Mastering this balance is key to sustainable growth and long-term success.
We agree that the naive "tell people what to do & then let them do it" model is ineffective. We agree that Founder CEOs need to be more engaged than that. We agree that there is a skill to be learned/taught there.
Thanks for this great perspective. I still think the biggest damage in PG post is the creation of this new stereotype: the Faker. Ambiguous, vague, the Faker is the perfect new scapegoat, the new ad hominem to counter the pointy-hairy boss.
That was the weirdest part, that and saying that executives are great liars. Compared to Founder CEOs? Really?
Thanks for bringing up the idea of survival - it made me think of how parents can access unparalleled strength if they feel their kids are in danger, but cannot live like (and perform like) their offspring is perennially in danger...
My thoughts (mostly) but a lot more elegantly presented! Thank you!
I think what is essential for a founder CEO's is to be engaged, and not confuse empowerment with abandonment (which is easy to do for the young founder without much experience). Engaging people, asking questions, learning about the reasons for one or the other decision is not micromanaging. It conveys that CEO is engaged and interested. It also gives an opportunity to spot and prevent consequential bad decisions.
A great bit of balance. It's not as simple as many people have assumed from a cursory reading of PG's essay.
It’s not your fault but this is actually a bad take. Why? Because it is a post off of another post that was heard in first person. Although I wasn’t there myself Brian Chesky gave an earlier version of his speech here on Lenny’s Podcast. Lenny use to work at Airbnb and I felt Brian Chesky may of been more open about things at the company. A gist was that the company became siloed as more and more people joined leadership. This created not only a bottleneck but also a power grab culture of mid managers. “Founder Mode” is a remedy to these problems because you need a higher power to 1. Keep leadership moving in a shared direction. 2. Free up any productivity blockages in the company. 3. Stop separate power blocks from forming in the company. That’s why Paul wrote an essay and why he said Ron Conway was listening at full attention. Here’s a link to the podcast video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ef0juAMqoE
Great insights! The founder mode tradeoff is a crucial concept—balancing visionary thinking with operational execution is no easy task. It's about knowing when to zoom in on the details and when to step back and focus on the bigger picture. Mastering this balance is key to sustainable growth and long-term success.
Not sure how different your and PGs take are actually are? Could imagine its made of nuances and of clearness of intend?
What do you think?
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see him responding to your respond? At least for me this would be the case.
We agree that the naive "tell people what to do & then let them do it" model is ineffective. We agree that Founder CEOs need to be more engaged than that. We agree that there is a skill to be learned/taught there.