Founder Mode or Manager Mode? I think neither.

9/3/2024

In Slack, one of my teammate (Jules Lajeskie) asked about my take on founder mode vs manager mode 1:

"I patiently await your hot take on the founder mode vs manager mode debate!"

As with any debate, It's a dichotomy so with me, it's always that "there's a third way"!

I also don't know if I'm doing a "good job" as a founder.

In fact, I think from an executive perspective, I know I can do better (so much so that I wrote about it last week and have been talking about it with Aaron, my co-founder).

also don't think I'm the kind of person who wants to grow to a 2000 person company.

I want to have a quiet company where everyone feels like their needs are more than met and we're still making the impact we want to make in the world.

I think clear purpose, clear decision rights and everyone is an infinite player is the mode that I want to play in.

I don't know what mode that puts me in.

Jules suggested "Player-Coach Mode".

That feels right.

🤘Chase

Footnotes

  1. Paul Graham recently published Founder Mode

Chase Adams