I always make time to read Charity Majors's writing, and this was no exception. I have mixed feelings about “Founder mode” and its implications, so when she shared this piece(https://charity.wtf/2024/12/17/founder-mode-and-the-art-of-mythmaking/), I knew I had to read it—and I found myself nodding along several times.
Here are my takeaways:
Keep things as small as possible: more people don’t mean better results or even faster results (9 women don’t have a baby in 1 month, this analogy is one I often use).
Accountability: you cannot blame other people for the things that happened while you’re in charge.
Too many meetings can be avoided in various ways: not just by having fewer people. Cultivating written and async communication culture also helps(I don’t know about calendar bankruptcy, I’m going to investigate it further)
Evaluating people is hard: it’s a skill that you need to develop.
My 2 cents to add:
Ranking employees as A, B, or C is not useful: encouraging peers to compete with one another doesn’t foster team culture. Teams achieve more things than individuals fighting against each other for being an A. Teams thrive when they make the most of their members’ strengths and balance their weaknesses.
Accountability starts at the top: As a manager or C-level leader, you can’t expect accountability from others if it’s something you don’t practice yourself. You must own outcomes, whether good or bad, without shifting blame for things that were ultimately your responsibility. People follow what they see, not what they’re told.