Founder Mode, done right (thread):
Some ppl are surprised by the exuberance with which PGās Founder Mode blog post has been received. There are many reasons for its strong resonance.
But the main one is that it introduces a catchy term for something that many founders & leaders have seen & experienced first-hand.
But the main one is that it introduces a catchy term for something that many founders & leaders have seen & experienced first-hand.
Hereās my prediction: a majority of founders & leaders who said to themselves this weekend āhenceforth I am going to be in Founder Modeā are likely to mess it up.
That is not bad per se. They might still end up being in a better place than if they continued with Manager Mode.
That is not bad per se. They might still end up being in a better place than if they continued with Manager Mode.
But, life is short. So I believe in maximizing odds of success.
Why mess something up when you can avoid messing it up?
So in this thread I thought Iād share my 20 cents (2c for each point) on how to do Founder Mode right. I hope youāll take what resonates and ignore the rest.
Why mess something up when you can avoid messing it up?
So in this thread I thought Iād share my 20 cents (2c for each point) on how to do Founder Mode right. I hope youāll take what resonates and ignore the rest.
#1 - The main goal is to win
First of all, donāt get dogmatic about soundbites. Your main goal is not to operate in Founder Mode. Your main goal is not to reject Manager Mode
Your main goal as a founder is to win. Be inflexible on your main goal & more flexible on all the rest.
First of all, donāt get dogmatic about soundbites. Your main goal is not to operate in Founder Mode. Your main goal is not to reject Manager Mode
Your main goal as a founder is to win. Be inflexible on your main goal & more flexible on all the rest.
A corollary to this: Donāt engage in Twitter fights with strangers over the minutiae of management techniques.
You donāt know their business, they donāt know yours. You are not them, they are not you. Your time & energy are precious. Donāt play stupid games.
Just win.
You donāt know their business, they donāt know yours. You are not them, they are not you. Your time & energy are precious. Donāt play stupid games.
Just win.
#2 - Founder Mode cannot be taught
Founder Mode is not about whether you have the Founder title. I know plenty of Founders who operate like Managers & will always operate like Managers because thatās just who they are. No one can teach you Founder Mode. You must become it.
Founder Mode is not about whether you have the Founder title. I know plenty of Founders who operate like Managers & will always operate like Managers because thatās just who they are. No one can teach you Founder Mode. You must become it.
A corollary to the above: Donāt blindly chase tactics. Think for yourself. Just because Jobs did the top 100 people offsite, donāt just go ahead & schedule it for your company.
If you want to be great, learn to discern what your company needs & creatively address those needs.
If you want to be great, learn to discern what your company needs & creatively address those needs.
#3 - Delegate AND Micromanage
It is a grave error to think that delegation is the opposite of micromanagement.
There is no way you can micromanage everything. Donāt believe me? Try it this week & tell me how it goes. Binary thinking makes you sound smart, but requires no skill.
It is a grave error to think that delegation is the opposite of micromanagement.
There is no way you can micromanage everything. Donāt believe me? Try it this week & tell me how it goes. Binary thinking makes you sound smart, but requires no skill.
Instead, hereās what you should do:
1. Delegate all low leverage tasks
2. Delegate high leverage tasks that others can do well
3. Focus your time on high leverage tasks that no one can do
1. Delegate all low leverage tasks
2. Delegate high leverage tasks that others can do well
3. Focus your time on high leverage tasks that no one can do
Now, hereās how to micromanage like a pro:
a) Reactively micromanage #1 (when thereās trouble)
b) Selectively micromanage #2:
- Clarify to whomever youāre delegating to that you will micromanage some things
- Give examples of those things
- Reassure them of your trust in them
a) Reactively micromanage #1 (when thereās trouble)
b) Selectively micromanage #2:
- Clarify to whomever youāre delegating to that you will micromanage some things
- Give examples of those things
- Reassure them of your trust in them
c) And for the remaining tasks that fall under #3, focus on them yourself, delegate certain sub-parts, and actively micromanage everything that will be pivotal for both the short-term success of the initiative and the long-term success of your company, your product & your brand.
This is sexy but wrong:
Hire great people and get out of their way
This is sexy but wrong:
Hire great people and get in their way
This is unsexy but correct:
Hire great people, show them the way, correct them if they veer off the way, and where there isnāt a way, build the way.
Hire great people and get out of their way
This is sexy but wrong:
Hire great people and get in their way
This is unsexy but correct:
Hire great people, show them the way, correct them if they veer off the way, and where there isnāt a way, build the way.
#4 - Good judgment is a must
If you cannot tell already, doing what I am saying requires good judgment. If that disturbs you, well, I have some news for you.
Good judgment is the defining trait of every great product person. If it were easy, everyone would be highly successful.
If you cannot tell already, doing what I am saying requires good judgment. If that disturbs you, well, I have some news for you.
Good judgment is the defining trait of every great product person. If it were easy, everyone would be highly successful.
So donāt get demoralized questions like: but how can I figure out what work is high leverage & what work is low leverage?
Trust me, if youāre smart, the LLM inside you already knows the answer. You just need someone to prompt that LLM and then actually listen to what it says.
Trust me, if youāre smart, the LLM inside you already knows the answer. You just need someone to prompt that LLM and then actually listen to what it says.
#5 - Avoid hiring the Incompetent Leader
The main reason why a lot of founders resonate with idea of Founder Mode (apart from the catchy term itself) and hate Manager Mode is that theyāve been burned by the Incompetent Leader (IL). Often more than once.
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The main reason why a lot of founders resonate with idea of Founder Mode (apart from the catchy term itself) and hate Manager Mode is that theyāve been burned by the Incompetent Leader (IL). Often more than once.
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So bookmark that thread to read it later & follow its suggestions.
Key thing Iāll say is that you must turn yourself into the kind of person who doesnāt get swayed at all by charisma.
You might think you are already that kind of person, but in reality few are. So try harder.
Key thing Iāll say is that you must turn yourself into the kind of person who doesnāt get swayed at all by charisma.
You might think you are already that kind of person, but in reality few are. So try harder.
#6 - Hire leaders who love winning
The founder of a company Iāve advised (company is worth several billions) shared a simple hiring philosophy for leaders.
He said: āI like to hire winnersā
I think this is the main thing you should be looking for when hiring senior leaders.
The founder of a company Iāve advised (company is worth several billions) shared a simple hiring philosophy for leaders.
He said: āI like to hire winnersā
I think this is the main thing you should be looking for when hiring senior leaders.
Rigorously seek answers to these questions in your interview process:
Does this person love winning?
Is there evidence that this person has won big before?
Is there evidence that their past win(s) would not have been big enough or fast enough without this person at the helm?
Does this person love winning?
Is there evidence that this person has won big before?
Is there evidence that their past win(s) would not have been big enough or fast enough without this person at the helm?
If you think this is obvious, let me tell you that it is far from obvious. It is highly likely that you are not rigorously seeking answers to these questions.
If you donāt believe me, I would like to note that easily 7 out 10 CPOs hired at startups would fail this basic test.
If you donāt believe me, I would like to note that easily 7 out 10 CPOs hired at startups would fail this basic test.
Note: if you are thinking right now, āwell, but winning at what cost?ā you are not thinking rigorously enough. Of course you want other qualities in this leader too (e.g. integrity, honesty, fit, management ability, etc)
Presence of one qualification doesnāt preclude the others.
Presence of one qualification doesnāt preclude the others.
#7 - Be very allergic to Optics
There are 3 levels of product work within a company:
1) The Impact level
2) The Execution level
3) The Optics level
Those who operate by default at the Optics level cannot understand those who operate by default at the Impact level & vice versa.
There are 3 levels of product work within a company:
1) The Impact level
2) The Execution level
3) The Optics level
Those who operate by default at the Optics level cannot understand those who operate by default at the Impact level & vice versa.
Manager Mode is basically optimizing for the Optics level
Founder Mode is basically optimizing first at the Impact level, next at the Execution level & not worrying about the Optics level
As a Founder, you must make it clear early & often that optimizing for Optics is not cool.
Founder Mode is basically optimizing first at the Impact level, next at the Execution level & not worrying about the Optics level
As a Founder, you must make it clear early & often that optimizing for Optics is not cool.
#8 - Be careful what you incentivize
Founders who find that their company has largely slid from Founder Mode to Manager Mode have only themselves to blame.
You see, this slide started the day you started incentivizing Manager behaviors & disincentivizing Founder behaviors.
Founders who find that their company has largely slid from Founder Mode to Manager Mode have only themselves to blame.
You see, this slide started the day you started incentivizing Manager behaviors & disincentivizing Founder behaviors.
Examples:
- The day you got visibly upset at an ambitious & thus far successful impact-focused team because they missed their committed launch date by 6 days
- The day you said āthis is a great presentationā when its content was so-so but the graphics & transitions were amazing
- The day you got visibly upset at an ambitious & thus far successful impact-focused team because they missed their committed launch date by 6 days
- The day you said āthis is a great presentationā when its content was so-so but the graphics & transitions were amazing
Examples (contd.)
- The day you appreciated a ācustomer-focusedā PM by name at your companyās All Hands because s/he talks to 5 customers a week and sends great notes, but none of his/her products have won in the past 4 years despite making major investments on those products
- The day you appreciated a ācustomer-focusedā PM by name at your companyās All Hands because s/he talks to 5 customers a week and sends great notes, but none of his/her products have won in the past 4 years despite making major investments on those products
- The day you didnāt listen to your gut about an impressive exec whose 2nd question to you was āhow will you measure my performance in this role?ā
- The day you introduced a new leader at All Hands by saying āWe hired Bob from Google where he managed an org of more than 600 pplā
- The day you introduced a new leader at All Hands by saying āWe hired Bob from Google where he managed an org of more than 600 pplā
These and dozens of other such days were what brought your company to Manager Mode.
So be very careful about the behaviors you incentivize.
You might still think of yourself as just a regular person, but as a Founder, people will look for hidden meaning in every word of yours.
So be very careful about the behaviors you incentivize.
You might still think of yourself as just a regular person, but as a Founder, people will look for hidden meaning in every word of yours.
#9 - Fix your weaknesses
āJust focus on your strengths, donāt worry about your weaknessesā is excellent career advice.
Except, this otherwise-excellent advice is not applicable to founders (and it is not applicable to product managers too, but thatās a different topic).
āJust focus on your strengths, donāt worry about your weaknessesā is excellent career advice.
Except, this otherwise-excellent advice is not applicable to founders (and it is not applicable to product managers too, but thatās a different topic).
As an otherwise-competent founder, you understand your productās vision better than anyone else.
You understand your brand better than anyone else. You understand the culture thatās going to enable your company to win better than anyone else.
Leverage that understanding.
You understand your brand better than anyone else. You understand the culture thatās going to enable your company to win better than anyone else.
Leverage that understanding.
You will need to opine on everything: HR, sales, marketing, BD, finance. No founder can be great at all of those things (with the possible exception of John Collison, who I found is great at everything). Even if it isnāt your forte, you must have a sense of what good looks like.
#10 - Get really good at messaging
āAll your problems are messaging problemsā
Yes, it is true. As a leader of a fast-scaling company, all your problems are now messaging problems.
āAll your problems are messaging problemsā
Yes, it is true. As a leader of a fast-scaling company, all your problems are now messaging problems.
Do you want to pivot your company back from Manager Mode to Founder Mode?
Messaging problem.
Do you want to avoid coming across as an a**hole as you do that?
Messaging problem.
Messaging problem.
Do you want to avoid coming across as an a**hole as you do that?
Messaging problem.
Many founders (and especially founders who are going through hypergrowth for the first time) find it very hard to be both candid AND kind. So sometimes they are kinder than they should be (too nice) and sometimes they are more candid & emotional than they should be (too abrasive)
So understand that while in theory it is easy to just announce to your company on Tuesday āhenceforth, we are going to be in Founder Modeāsee blog post linked below for referenceā, the onus is on you to level up on your ability to find the right words & to say them the right way.
And that is all my friends.
Founder Mode or Manager Mode or Fun Mode, I wish you my very best ššŖš¾šš¾
Back to the top of this thread:
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Founder Mode or Manager Mode or Fun Mode, I wish you my very best ššŖš¾šš¾
Back to the top of this thread:
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Some further reading the tweets below.
First and foremost, if you havenāt already seen it (I know thatās highly unlikely), hereās PGās post on Founder Mode:
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First and foremost, if you havenāt already seen it (I know thatās highly unlikely), hereās PGās post on Founder Mode:
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Hereās a thread on Operators Optimizing for Optics - basically what happens when a Founder hires a Professional Manager:
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A pithy observation about Manager Mode:
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My take from 3 years back on the modes in which people operate within a company (one might say that the top right is Founder Mode):
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Specifically on product leaders & executives, it is useful to understand these 3 types of product leaders:
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A thread with more detailed guidance, DOās and DONTās if you are a Founder whoās hiring a Head of Product:
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Some details you should micromanage. Example in quoted tweet below.
This example also shows that you cannot micromanage all details.
If you donāt believe that, consider that Apple shipped some crappy UX even during Steve Jobsā time e.g. Apple ID, Numbers, Podcasts app, iTunes
This example also shows that you cannot micromanage all details.
If you donāt believe that, consider that Apple shipped some crappy UX even during Steve Jobsā time e.g. Apple ID, Numbers, Podcasts app, iTunes
Short thread on Impact, Execution, Optics levels:
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