# Founder Mode  ## Metadata - Author: [[Paul Graham Essays]] - Full Title: Founder Mode - Category: #articles - Summary: Brian Chesky's recent talk highlighted that traditional advice for running larger companies often fails founders, leading them to seek their own methods. Founders operate in a unique "founder mode," which differs from the conventional "manager mode," and their success suggests that founder mode can be more effective. Understanding and defining founder mode could empower entrepreneurs to scale their companies successfully, much like Steve Jobs did at Apple. - URL: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html ## Highlights - There are things founders can do that managers can't, and not doing them feels wrong to founders, because it is. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jcbec83c93yata0tqqe612bt)) - There are as far as I know no books specifically about founder mode. Business schools don't know it exists. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jcbecqqw6852ph66tb9atb67)) - Hire good people and give them room to do their jobs. Sounds great when it's described that way, doesn't it? Except in practice, judging from the report of founder after founder, what this often turns out to mean is: hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jcbeepzebb2wjqddgw97v1me)) - C-level execs are often very skilled at managing up. And I don't think anyone with knowledge of this world would dispute that. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jcbekfx7633hxy6bfvp8vm42))