Thank you for talking about the hard stuff! We live through these leaders, their style and can never articulate the way you did. There is truth, candor and self reflection.
Working with benevolent dictators is like endurance sport. You suffer in the moment & it's hard to be zen about said suffering. But when you turn around and look back at how far you've come, you're astonished at how you were able to do that.
Great article and I like that you say something that is slightly uncomfortable. But- I don’t agree with this ”The best founders are unreasonable about product, deeply reasonable about people.”
I think people that are unreasonable about project often are really shitty at being reasonable about people.
Just a personal observation. I like to appreciate leaders like this anyway, people can bring something to the table without being huggable
This resonates; benevolent dictatorships in visionary companies can cut through the noise and provide real direction. When a founder is firm about the product yet deeply supportive of their team, creativity and impact thrive. It’s not about democracy but about leadership that empowers through clarity rather than indecision.
How does a Steve Jobs fit into this definition then? Sure, you could say his obsessiveness around design without compromised build excellent products which eventually grew to become an excellent company (the two are different).
But the very same person was a disastrous dictatorship model when it came to his own health. Rejecting the best professional advice of his oncologist, he made the dictatorial decision to outsmart science himself and eat nothing but carrots for months... eventually dying from a treatable cancer and orphaning his daughter over dictatorial stubbornness.
Dictatorships can just as easily create empire-destroying as they do empire-creating organizations. Unlike a 'democracy' where a minority might cry out about the giant sinkhole ahead of them, a dictator will merely fire that person and surround themselves with a version of reality that most pleases their belief system.
"Circular debates about priorities that produced nothing but calendar invites for follow-up meetings. ... I wanted to scream. Just tell me what matters. Make the damn decision. ... That torn PRD suddenly made sense. I'd rather have a founder who knows exactly what they want ..."
You're an incompetent PM—or maybe just a PM in title, without knowing what being a PM truly means.
You need to drive progress within limited resources (or choose not to progress at all). And when you hit the limits, you need to make real decisions—not just choices, but decisive judgment calls.
If you can't fulfill your responsibilities as a PM and instead wish for a founder who knows exactly what they want—then you're not doing your job.
Reporting that a project should not proceed is also an important role of a PM.
This is great (especially amongst the sea of BS spewed on LinkedIn) and rings incredibly true
Truth.
👀
Thank you for talking about the hard stuff! We live through these leaders, their style and can never articulate the way you did. There is truth, candor and self reflection.
Working with benevolent dictators is like endurance sport. You suffer in the moment & it's hard to be zen about said suffering. But when you turn around and look back at how far you've come, you're astonished at how you were able to do that.
>> That's the thing about unreasonable people. They're often right.
Maybe :-) this is a strong assertion. I will confirm from personal experience that
>> People who are often right are also often unreasonable to the majority.
I love the clarity and honesty in your words btw.
Great article and I like that you say something that is slightly uncomfortable. But- I don’t agree with this ”The best founders are unreasonable about product, deeply reasonable about people.”
I think people that are unreasonable about project often are really shitty at being reasonable about people.
Just a personal observation. I like to appreciate leaders like this anyway, people can bring something to the table without being huggable
How does one find founders and people who are this obsessive??
This resonates; benevolent dictatorships in visionary companies can cut through the noise and provide real direction. When a founder is firm about the product yet deeply supportive of their team, creativity and impact thrive. It’s not about democracy but about leadership that empowers through clarity rather than indecision.
How does a Steve Jobs fit into this definition then? Sure, you could say his obsessiveness around design without compromised build excellent products which eventually grew to become an excellent company (the two are different).
But the very same person was a disastrous dictatorship model when it came to his own health. Rejecting the best professional advice of his oncologist, he made the dictatorial decision to outsmart science himself and eat nothing but carrots for months... eventually dying from a treatable cancer and orphaning his daughter over dictatorial stubbornness.
Dictatorships can just as easily create empire-destroying as they do empire-creating organizations. Unlike a 'democracy' where a minority might cry out about the giant sinkhole ahead of them, a dictator will merely fire that person and surround themselves with a version of reality that most pleases their belief system.
A groupthink of one is still groupthink.
"Circular debates about priorities that produced nothing but calendar invites for follow-up meetings. ... I wanted to scream. Just tell me what matters. Make the damn decision. ... That torn PRD suddenly made sense. I'd rather have a founder who knows exactly what they want ..."
You're an incompetent PM—or maybe just a PM in title, without knowing what being a PM truly means.
You need to drive progress within limited resources (or choose not to progress at all). And when you hit the limits, you need to make real decisions—not just choices, but decisive judgment calls.
If you can't fulfill your responsibilities as a PM and instead wish for a founder who knows exactly what they want—then you're not doing your job.
Reporting that a project should not proceed is also an important role of a PM.
Philosopher king of the office.
And if this was scaled to nation/society level, Plato's idea about Philosopher-Kings would fit well
Founder DNA decoded and expectations set. Great writeup.
🫡
Need laser focus to get things done and get business humming
Most of the time that is the only way
Take everything- product, marketing, technology, experience
And above all a laser focus to package it together- can't listen to everything….and make decison by committe
Phenomenally written without filters. Thanks for writing about the less-written.