Founder Mode. The discourse (algorithm) demands we discuss it.
My hot-take: the original article is, honestly, not PG’s best work and is best viewed as a jargon land-grab. That said, pointing to a blank space (fancy word: lacuna) and saying “there’s something missing here, and I have a name for whatever it is” is slightly productive. 🤷🏻♂️
I’m a relieved that, so far, the discussion is about execution and thinking. It’s not about power dynamics and executive victimhood (🙄). Excessive org flattening, overloading managers with dozens of reports, and “efficiency” aren’t central to the discussion. Hopefully, those are forgotten trends of late 2022. 🤞🏻
Kent Beck points out that all leadership interventions on work-in-progress, from higher-status individuals in particular, yield a new mindset in which the team/startup operates. Neglect this tradeoff at your own peril. 👍🏻
Rands in Repose focuses on the philosophy that leadership comes from everywhere in a startup. Everyone is accountable for improving the product and company__. The org chart and hierarchy are, to some extent, guidelines and not rules. 💪🏻
