Sunday September 1st 2024 by socraticDev
Latest blog post by YC founder Paul Graham is a good one
Following up on a recent Brian Chesky's talk he challenges the idea that start-ups should be handed over to professional managers when they reach a certain stage of maturity
"The theme of Brian's talk was that the conventional wisdom about how to run larger companies is mistaken. As Airbnb grew, well-meaning people advised him that he had to run the company in a certain way for it to scale. Their advice could be optimistically summarized as "hire good people and give them room to do their jobs." He followed this advice and the results were disastrous." - Paul Graham
In conclusion, Graham advocates for a reevaluation of how leadership in growing companies is perceived, suggesting that the strong, hands-on leadership of founders should be more widely accepted and valued, rather than defaulting to professional managers who may not align with the company's original vision.
Professional managers can be harmful
Graham is particularly critical of professional managers, labeling them as "professional fakers" and "skillful liars" who can drive companies into the ground. He believes that the core problem is that these managers often lack the deep connection to the company's mission that founders have.
Founder Mode
To counter this, Graham proposes the concept of "founder mode," where founders stay deeply involved in the company's operations, interacting directly with key personnel regardless of their position in the hierarchy. He mentions practices like "skip-level" meetings, where founders bypass layers of management to speak directly with important team members. Graham references Steve Jobs as a successful example of a founder who maintained direct control and connection with his company, citing Jobs' annual retreats with Apple's 100 most important people—who weren't necessarily the highest-ranking.
conclusion
Aside from Steve Jobs, I can think of Basecamp's DHH and Elon Musk who chose to remain responsible of their company's vision.
Graham advocates for a reevaluation of how leadership in growing companies is perceived, suggesting that the strong, hands-on leadership of founders should be more widely accepted and valued, rather than defaulting to professional managers who may not align with the company's original vision.
