Founder Mode

"Hire a good talent, then get out of the way and give them room to do their job". (ie, don't meddle/micromanage) Is this good advice?

Paul Graham's latest article on Founder mode is making waves. In the article, Paul talks about the common management wisdom that I've quoted above. Paul says that while this is good advice for a company that is operating in a steady state, it is bad advice for any company that is operating in an unstable state - which means startups or companies in transition / transformation.

The article itself is in response to a talk by Brian Chesky (founder of AirBnB) talking about how AirBnB ignored this management advice of in order to grow. After that talk, a whole lot of founders came out in support of Brian's position.

Should one hire and then get out of the way? What do you think?

Here is a link to the article - Founder Mode