Half of LinkedIn has already weighed in on Paul Graham's recent essay Founder Mode, which criticized the approach of running large companies with "efficient managers." The discussion was sparked by Brian Chesky, who, during an event at YC, lamented that hired management nearly destroyed his company. Everyone in attendance nodded in agreement. Let’s set aside the fact that guys in Patagonia vests may not be the best sample for assessing the success of "Founder Mode." The success of some of these individuals is hard to replicate, not just in other countries, but even in the U.S. under high-interest-rate conditions. Survivorship bias in action. The key question here is: are motivation and accountability for the company’s mission the critical factors for a startup's success? In my opinion, they come second, right after the ability to continuously learn and adapt to changes in the company. For example, the founders of Instagram stepped aside at the right time (maybe unwillingly), allowing efficient managers to build the second-largest social network in the world and a huge cash cow for Meta. An efficient manager, Imran Khan, came to Snapchat from Alibaba, helping the company make a great IPO and improving a lot as a CSO. Bill Gates handed over management to one of his early employees, Steve Ballmer, who in turn passed it to Satya Nadella, allowing Microsoft to become one of the world’s largest companies. Steve Jobs long resisted the necessity of releasing the iPhone and was ultimately convinced by multiple managers, who saved the company, which at the time was relying on a single product line. My conclusion from the stories above: one must constantly learn and evolve to align with the product's tempo. If you fall short due to a lack of skills, motivation, or health, it's better to let more flexible and competent people handle these challenges. You can't blame failure in people management on an inherent flaw in the hired management system.
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Leader, Patient-Centric Clinician, Educator, Mentor, Writer, Advocate
“Hard work does change the odds.” Of course it does! I can attest that I have never worked 9-5. Excellent post; I had to share! If you haven’t read The Diary Of A CEO you are missing out. There are so many takeaways from leading with an entrepreneurial mindset to work-life adaptability and resilience. It isn't just for those in the C-suite. It's a goldmine of insights applicable to professionals at every level and in every industry…and just life! #leadership #personalgrowth #professionalgrowth #grit #management
I’m pretty shocked at how gaslit, scared and indecisive leaders have become since the pandemic. Politically correct leadership is a corporate virus that will kill your company… These may be unpopular opinions but I believe: 1. If the leadership advice sounds ‘nice’ and ‘politically correct’, it's probably effective at getting likes on LinkedIn and ineffective at building a startup. 2. Work for companies that are not scared to disagree with the world - industry norms are the sat nav to mediocrity. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they lead because they don’t follow - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. 3. Most people would quit the company they work for if the company gave them the culture they say they want - idealised company culture sounds appealing in theory but leads to disconnection, unfairness, low-motivation and lack of direction in reality. 4. Great company culture is not crafted by total consensus - all attempts to please everyone will fail at pleasing anyone and hurt the mission. Let the mission create the culture - don’t throw away a good culture, to cater to a few bad hires. 5. Your company should feel a little intense, and your leaders should feel a little impatient - the world hasn’t stopped changing; if your company stops evolving, your decline starts unfolding. 6. Managers who prioritise being liked over being effective are killing the company to save their ego. 7. If someone is always fighting against change, they are acting like a manager; if someone is always fighting for change, they are acting like a founder. Hire people with a founder mentality. 8. The advice to 'hire good people and get out of their way' often leads to hiring people who get in the way - sometimes you do have to micromanage and be hands on for a while. Don’t trust blindly. If you find yourself continuing to micro-manage over the long term you probably made a hiring mistake. 9. Your vision didn't come from an external committee, so don't let one dilute it now. 10. No one has ever built an industry leading start-up while working 9 to 5. No matter how much they try to gaslight you, never forget that hard work does change the odds. Just as Instagram presents flawlessly filtered selfies to create an illusion of perfect beauty, LinkedIn presents meticulously polished political correctness to create the illusion of perfect leadership. Both platforms will trick you into thinking you must be doing something wrong. You’re probably not. Trust your common sense.
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I’m pretty shocked at how gaslit, scared and indecisive leaders have become since the pandemic. Politically correct leadership is a corporate virus that will kill your company… These may be unpopular opinions but I believe: 1. If the leadership advice sounds ‘nice’ and ‘politically correct’, it's probably effective at getting likes on LinkedIn and ineffective at building a startup. 2. Work for companies that are not scared to disagree with the world - industry norms are the sat nav to mediocrity. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they lead because they don’t follow - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. 3. Most people would quit the company they work for if the company gave them the culture they say they want - idealised company culture sounds appealing in theory but leads to disconnection, unfairness, low-motivation and lack of direction in reality. 4. Great company culture is not crafted by total consensus - all attempts to please everyone will fail at pleasing anyone and hurt the mission. Let the mission create the culture - don’t throw away a good culture, to cater to a few bad hires. 5. Your company should feel a little intense, and your leaders should feel a little impatient - the world hasn’t stopped changing; if your company stops evolving, your decline starts unfolding. 6. Managers who prioritise being liked over being effective are killing the company to save their ego. 7. If someone is always fighting against change, they are acting like a manager; if someone is always fighting for change, they are acting like a founder. Hire people with a founder mentality. 8. The advice to 'hire good people and get out of their way' often leads to hiring people who get in the way - sometimes you do have to micromanage and be hands on for a while. Don’t trust blindly. If you find yourself continuing to micro-manage over the long term you probably made a hiring mistake. 9. Your vision didn't come from an external committee, so don't let one dilute it now. 10. No one has ever built an industry leading start-up while working 9 to 5. No matter how much they try to gaslight you, never forget that hard work does change the odds. Just as Instagram presents flawlessly filtered selfies to create an illusion of perfect beauty, LinkedIn presents meticulously polished political correctness to create the illusion of perfect leadership. Both platforms will trick you into thinking you must be doing something wrong. You’re probably not. Trust your common sense.
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Yeah it can be a really toxic environment when you realise it's all about giving perception. Prime example. let's mandate mental health awareness and training, sounds great. Awareness leads to people being brave and tackling issues they have had locked away, issues theyay have chosen to ignore or hide away. The training can be a trigger for some unprocessed trauma which then leads to a breakdown or deterioration of mental health. Organisation direct their individuals to their EAP, which provide 6 sessions of therapy to get you back to work. Some trauma requires significantly more than 6 sessions of therapy to resolve. This then leads to attendance triggers and the individual who was coping quite well prior to the awareness training to explore private and very expensive therapy as the NHS is broken. And they are very often left to deal with things themselves , with a fragile mind and total lack of trust in the organisation they work for. I know, I am currently trying to piece things back together after my own experience of this. Mine goes deeper as the same approach is also applied to EDI, the one rule for those at the top and another for every one else.
I’m pretty shocked at how gaslit, scared and indecisive leaders have become since the pandemic. Politically correct leadership is a corporate virus that will kill your company… These may be unpopular opinions but I believe: 1. If the leadership advice sounds ‘nice’ and ‘politically correct’, it's probably effective at getting likes on LinkedIn and ineffective at building a startup. 2. Work for companies that are not scared to disagree with the world - industry norms are the sat nav to mediocrity. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they lead because they don’t follow - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. 3. Most people would quit the company they work for if the company gave them the culture they say they want - idealised company culture sounds appealing in theory but leads to disconnection, unfairness, low-motivation and lack of direction in reality. 4. Great company culture is not crafted by total consensus - all attempts to please everyone will fail at pleasing anyone and hurt the mission. Let the mission create the culture - don’t throw away a good culture, to cater to a few bad hires. 5. Your company should feel a little intense, and your leaders should feel a little impatient - the world hasn’t stopped changing; if your company stops evolving, your decline starts unfolding. 6. Managers who prioritise being liked over being effective are killing the company to save their ego. 7. If someone is always fighting against change, they are acting like a manager; if someone is always fighting for change, they are acting like a founder. Hire people with a founder mentality. 8. The advice to 'hire good people and get out of their way' often leads to hiring people who get in the way - sometimes you do have to micromanage and be hands on for a while. Don’t trust blindly. If you find yourself continuing to micro-manage over the long term you probably made a hiring mistake. 9. Your vision didn't come from an external committee, so don't let one dilute it now. 10. No one has ever built an industry leading start-up while working 9 to 5. No matter how much they try to gaslight you, never forget that hard work does change the odds. Just as Instagram presents flawlessly filtered selfies to create an illusion of perfect beauty, LinkedIn presents meticulously polished political correctness to create the illusion of perfect leadership. Both platforms will trick you into thinking you must be doing something wrong. You’re probably not. Trust your common sense.
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Entrepreneur / International Key-Note Speaker / CEO of Pro Talent / Best-selling author / Chairperson and Founder of the Robin Hood Foundation / Active Citizen
This is such a great article. I have delivered talks at hundreds of companies since the pandemic and I can see the tension between leaders wanting to adopt a new, cool approach to leadership vs realising that the new culture has led to unprofitable results and a weak culture. I love the part where the author talks about having intensity and impatience in your leadership and not tolerating a 9 to 5 mindset if you want your company to grow. The question begs to be asked - "As a leader, should I be more intense and impatient?".
I’m pretty shocked at how gaslit, scared and indecisive leaders have become since the pandemic. Politically correct leadership is a corporate virus that will kill your company… These may be unpopular opinions but I believe: 1. If the leadership advice sounds ‘nice’ and ‘politically correct’, it's probably effective at getting likes on LinkedIn and ineffective at building a startup. 2. Work for companies that are not scared to disagree with the world - industry norms are the sat nav to mediocrity. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they lead because they don’t follow - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. 3. Most people would quit the company they work for if the company gave them the culture they say they want - idealised company culture sounds appealing in theory but leads to disconnection, unfairness, low-motivation and lack of direction in reality. 4. Great company culture is not crafted by total consensus - all attempts to please everyone will fail at pleasing anyone and hurt the mission. Let the mission create the culture - don’t throw away a good culture, to cater to a few bad hires. 5. Your company should feel a little intense, and your leaders should feel a little impatient - the world hasn’t stopped changing; if your company stops evolving, your decline starts unfolding. 6. Managers who prioritise being liked over being effective are killing the company to save their ego. 7. If someone is always fighting against change, they are acting like a manager; if someone is always fighting for change, they are acting like a founder. Hire people with a founder mentality. 8. The advice to 'hire good people and get out of their way' often leads to hiring people who get in the way - sometimes you do have to micromanage and be hands on for a while. Don’t trust blindly. If you find yourself continuing to micro-manage over the long term you probably made a hiring mistake. 9. Your vision didn't come from an external committee, so don't let one dilute it now. 10. No one has ever built an industry leading start-up while working 9 to 5. No matter how much they try to gaslight you, never forget that hard work does change the odds. Just as Instagram presents flawlessly filtered selfies to create an illusion of perfect beauty, LinkedIn presents meticulously polished political correctness to create the illusion of perfect leadership. Both platforms will trick you into thinking you must be doing something wrong. You’re probably not. Trust your common sense.
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Growth tastes good, after all ..
I’m pretty shocked at how gaslit, scared and indecisive leaders have become since the pandemic. Politically correct leadership is a corporate virus that will kill your company… These may be unpopular opinions but I believe: 1. If the leadership advice sounds ‘nice’ and ‘politically correct’, it's probably effective at getting likes on LinkedIn and ineffective at building a startup. 2. Work for companies that are not scared to disagree with the world - industry norms are the sat nav to mediocrity. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they lead because they don’t follow - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. 3. Most people would quit the company they work for if the company gave them the culture they say they want - idealised company culture sounds appealing in theory but leads to disconnection, unfairness, low-motivation and lack of direction in reality. 4. Great company culture is not crafted by total consensus - all attempts to please everyone will fail at pleasing anyone and hurt the mission. Let the mission create the culture - don’t throw away a good culture, to cater to a few bad hires. 5. Your company should feel a little intense, and your leaders should feel a little impatient - the world hasn’t stopped changing; if your company stops evolving, your decline starts unfolding. 6. Managers who prioritise being liked over being effective are killing the company to save their ego. 7. If someone is always fighting against change, they are acting like a manager; if someone is always fighting for change, they are acting like a founder. Hire people with a founder mentality. 8. The advice to 'hire good people and get out of their way' often leads to hiring people who get in the way - sometimes you do have to micromanage and be hands on for a while. Don’t trust blindly. If you find yourself continuing to micro-manage over the long term you probably made a hiring mistake. 9. Your vision didn't come from an external committee, so don't let one dilute it now. 10. No one has ever built an industry leading start-up while working 9 to 5. No matter how much they try to gaslight you, never forget that hard work does change the odds. Just as Instagram presents flawlessly filtered selfies to create an illusion of perfect beauty, LinkedIn presents meticulously polished political correctness to create the illusion of perfect leadership. Both platforms will trick you into thinking you must be doing something wrong. You’re probably not. Trust your common sense.
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Aspiring Industrialist and Innovator | Finance and Operations Leader | Ex Andela
This is insightful and thoughtful provoking.
I’m pretty shocked at how gaslit, scared and indecisive leaders have become since the pandemic. Politically correct leadership is a corporate virus that will kill your company… These may be unpopular opinions but I believe: 1. If the leadership advice sounds ‘nice’ and ‘politically correct’, it's probably effective at getting likes on LinkedIn and ineffective at building a startup. 2. Work for companies that are not scared to disagree with the world - industry norms are the sat nav to mediocrity. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they lead because they don’t follow - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. 3. Most people would quit the company they work for if the company gave them the culture they say they want - idealised company culture sounds appealing in theory but leads to disconnection, unfairness, low-motivation and lack of direction in reality. 4. Great company culture is not crafted by total consensus - all attempts to please everyone will fail at pleasing anyone and hurt the mission. Let the mission create the culture - don’t throw away a good culture, to cater to a few bad hires. 5. Your company should feel a little intense, and your leaders should feel a little impatient - the world hasn’t stopped changing; if your company stops evolving, your decline starts unfolding. 6. Managers who prioritise being liked over being effective are killing the company to save their ego. 7. If someone is always fighting against change, they are acting like a manager; if someone is always fighting for change, they are acting like a founder. Hire people with a founder mentality. 8. The advice to 'hire good people and get out of their way' often leads to hiring people who get in the way - sometimes you do have to micromanage and be hands on for a while. Don’t trust blindly. If you find yourself continuing to micro-manage over the long term you probably made a hiring mistake. 9. Your vision didn't come from an external committee, so don't let one dilute it now. 10. No one has ever built an industry leading start-up while working 9 to 5. No matter how much they try to gaslight you, never forget that hard work does change the odds. Just as Instagram presents flawlessly filtered selfies to create an illusion of perfect beauty, LinkedIn presents meticulously polished political correctness to create the illusion of perfect leadership. Both platforms will trick you into thinking you must be doing something wrong. You’re probably not. Trust your common sense.
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Nothing beats growth. A key goal of mine is making sure little legs sets up our clients, employees and partners for growth within content. If a client leaves little legs wanting to set up an in house content powerhouse, we have done our job. If an employee leaves for a higher role or exciting opportunities, we have done our job. If a partner decides to compete with us or buy us out, we have done our job. Those will all challenge us as a business but we will grow because of it.
I’m pretty shocked at how gaslit, scared and indecisive leaders have become since the pandemic. Politically correct leadership is a corporate virus that will kill your company… These may be unpopular opinions but I believe: 1. If the leadership advice sounds ‘nice’ and ‘politically correct’, it's probably effective at getting likes on LinkedIn and ineffective at building a startup. 2. Work for companies that are not scared to disagree with the world - industry norms are the sat nav to mediocrity. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they lead because they don’t follow - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. 3. Most people would quit the company they work for if the company gave them the culture they say they want - idealised company culture sounds appealing in theory but leads to disconnection, unfairness, low-motivation and lack of direction in reality. 4. Great company culture is not crafted by total consensus - all attempts to please everyone will fail at pleasing anyone and hurt the mission. Let the mission create the culture - don’t throw away a good culture, to cater to a few bad hires. 5. Your company should feel a little intense, and your leaders should feel a little impatient - the world hasn’t stopped changing; if your company stops evolving, your decline starts unfolding. 6. Managers who prioritise being liked over being effective are killing the company to save their ego. 7. If someone is always fighting against change, they are acting like a manager; if someone is always fighting for change, they are acting like a founder. Hire people with a founder mentality. 8. The advice to 'hire good people and get out of their way' often leads to hiring people who get in the way - sometimes you do have to micromanage and be hands on for a while. Don’t trust blindly. If you find yourself continuing to micro-manage over the long term you probably made a hiring mistake. 9. Your vision didn't come from an external committee, so don't let one dilute it now. 10. No one has ever built an industry leading start-up while working 9 to 5. No matter how much they try to gaslight you, never forget that hard work does change the odds. Just as Instagram presents flawlessly filtered selfies to create an illusion of perfect beauty, LinkedIn presents meticulously polished political correctness to create the illusion of perfect leadership. Both platforms will trick you into thinking you must be doing something wrong. You’re probably not. Trust your common sense.
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ALL OF THIS…. Is correct! Steven Bartlett nailed these 10 #leadership principles. Especially this one: 2. Do not work for companies that follow industry norms. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. The companies I own are certainly atypical. I am atypical. I am unapologetic about it. Our companies lead the #selfstorage industry precisely because we are atypical. Which principles resonate with you?
I’m pretty shocked at how gaslit, scared and indecisive leaders have become since the pandemic. Politically correct leadership is a corporate virus that will kill your company… These may be unpopular opinions but I believe: 1. If the leadership advice sounds ‘nice’ and ‘politically correct’, it's probably effective at getting likes on LinkedIn and ineffective at building a startup. 2. Work for companies that are not scared to disagree with the world - industry norms are the sat nav to mediocrity. Great companies are atypical companies - that’s why they beat the market - they lead because they don’t follow - they operate and innovate in atypical ways. They feel atypical and hold atypical beliefs. 3. Most people would quit the company they work for if the company gave them the culture they say they want - idealised company culture sounds appealing in theory but leads to disconnection, unfairness, low-motivation and lack of direction in reality. 4. Great company culture is not crafted by total consensus - all attempts to please everyone will fail at pleasing anyone and hurt the mission. Let the mission create the culture - don’t throw away a good culture, to cater to a few bad hires. 5. Your company should feel a little intense, and your leaders should feel a little impatient - the world hasn’t stopped changing; if your company stops evolving, your decline starts unfolding. 6. Managers who prioritise being liked over being effective are killing the company to save their ego. 7. If someone is always fighting against change, they are acting like a manager; if someone is always fighting for change, they are acting like a founder. Hire people with a founder mentality. 8. The advice to 'hire good people and get out of their way' often leads to hiring people who get in the way - sometimes you do have to micromanage and be hands on for a while. Don’t trust blindly. If you find yourself continuing to micro-manage over the long term you probably made a hiring mistake. 9. Your vision didn't come from an external committee, so don't let one dilute it now. 10. No one has ever built an industry leading start-up while working 9 to 5. No matter how much they try to gaslight you, never forget that hard work does change the odds. Just as Instagram presents flawlessly filtered selfies to create an illusion of perfect beauty, LinkedIn presents meticulously polished political correctness to create the illusion of perfect leadership. Both platforms will trick you into thinking you must be doing something wrong. You’re probably not. Trust your common sense.
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Dartmouth College alum. Took an idea from my college dorm to $1.5M+ revenue. Helping founders grow their personal brands with FounderBrands.
"I don't know what to post on social media." Here are 50 topics business owners can write about (bookmark this): 1. How you started your business 2. Your biggest challenges 3. Lessons from your first year 4. The importance of customer feedback 5. Building a strong team 6. Time management tips for success 7. The power of networking 8. Why company culture matters 9. Mistakes you’ve learned from 10. Your CEO morning routine 11. The value of mentorship 12. Scaling your business 13. Managing work-life balance 14. The importance of brand consistency 15. Why customer service is everything 16. Business risks you’ve taken 17. Your top productivity tools 18. Staying motivated as a founder 19. Social media’s role in business 20. Handling failure effectively 21. Pivoting your business model 22. Your customer-centric approach 23. Why transparency builds trust 24. Challenges of remote work 25. Core values in your business 26. Building your personal brand 27. The impact of digital marketing 28. Celebrating small business wins 29. Keeping up with industry trends 30. Overcoming imposter syndrome 31. Why innovation is key to success 32. Your first big sale 33. Developing leadership skills 34. Building strong client relationships 35. Creating a sustainable business 36. Handling difficult clients 37. The importance of continuous learning 38. The future of your industry 39. Prioritizing employee wellbeing 40. The story behind your brand 41. Handling competition 42. Developing a growth mindset 43. Boosting customer loyalty 44. Turning failure into success 45. Your vision for the future of your business 46. Tools you use for financials 47. The importance of clear communication 48. Handling rapid business growth 49. Why collaboration is greater than competition 50. Celebrating milestones and achievements Want to grow online but don't have the time? That's why I created FounderBrands. Spend one-hour PER MONTH sharing your expertise with us we'll take care of the rest: - Drafting - Editing - Scheduling - Analyzing Check out more here: https://lnkd.in/eCcYNAHc
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Your LinkedIn posts are boring let’s change that | Helping busy coaches & business owners build personal brands that attract high ticket clients in 90 days. | Done with You Coaching | Done for You Solutions.
I've noticed something interesting about CEOs on LinkedIn lately. Many are spending hours each day on the platform. They think it’s helping their business. But it’s not. LinkedIn's most effective CEOs don’t: - Post everyday - Try to go viral - Stay on Li for hours Instead, the most effective CEOs are willing to shake things up. Take Dan Price, former CEO of Gravity Payments: - Criticized billionaires on this post - Advocated for higher wages Got over: ↳ 500,000 reactions ↳ 15,000 comments. Or consider Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen: - Posted about leadership failures - Received 3x her average engagement - Sparked a global conversation on vulnerability in business. The common thread? These CEOs dare to: - Admit mistakes publicly - Challenge industry norms - Take stands on controversial issues It's not about being inflammatory. It's about being genuine and thought-provoking. Most CEOs play it safe on LinkedIn. ↳ But safety doesn't drive conversations or change. The question is: What bold truth is your industry waiting for you to speak? Your authentic voice could be your strongest asset on this platform. And remember: be strategically authentic. Be bold when you have a point to make. Not because you feel like it. Have you ever made a post on a controversial topic? Let me know in the comments! --------------------------------------------- I am Sheza Yazdani I help Solopreneurs with: ➡ Personal branding ➡ Profile optimization (including graphic design) and brand identity. ➡ 1:1 mentoring on how to gain clarity so you can post with confidence. 📩 DM me or book a discovery call (link in the Featured section) #socialemediamarketing #personalbranding #socialsheza
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