Ryan Breslow

So leaders, I think fundamentally are able to number one, understand the different points of view of the people that report to them. Number two, set a direction or set a vision, really clearly say, this is where we are going. And then number three, figure out how to allocate responsibility to the people that report to them to achieve that objective.

So leaders, I think fundamentally are able to number one, understand the different points of view of the people that report to them. Number two, set a direction or set a vision, really clearly say, this is where we are going. And then number three, figure out how to allocate responsibility to the people that report to them to achieve that objective.

Whereas a manager is typically being told what's going to happen in the organization, like a giant Ouija board with 10,000 employees hands on the writing thing that go around and try and write the sentences. And ultimately you just get a bunch of gobbity goop.

Whereas a manager is typically being told what's going to happen in the organization, like a giant Ouija board with 10,000 employees hands on the writing thing that go around and try and write the sentences. And ultimately you just get a bunch of gobbity goop.

As companies scale and they bring in these quote professional managers, they're typically kind of looking down and saying, hey, what are we gonna do? What's gonna happen next? And they're not actually setting a direction, whereas someone who's a founder typically feels the authority to be able to set the direction. But to Chamath's point, Satya Nadella, Sundar, Nikesh, Tim Cook, a great example.

As companies scale and they bring in these quote professional managers, they're typically kind of looking down and saying, hey, what are we gonna do? What's gonna happen next? And they're not actually setting a direction, whereas someone who's a founder typically feels the authority to be able to set the direction. But to Chamath's point, Satya Nadella, Sundar, Nikesh, Tim Cook, a great example.

There are some really great leaders that have run organizations that are already scaled and then taken them to an order of magnitude or two orders of magnitude beyond where they were when they step in. So I don't think that there's necessarily a founder.

There are some really great leaders that have run organizations that are already scaled and then taken them to an order of magnitude or two orders of magnitude beyond where they were when they step in. So I don't think that there's necessarily a founder.

By the way, what's important about what you just said, Chamath, is that that is effectively, I think, the definition of like being a successful founder, understanding from first principles. So these are leaders that can think from first principles, not necessarily from comparables.

By the way, what's important about what you just said, Chamath, is that that is effectively, I think, the definition of like being a successful founder, understanding from first principles. So these are leaders that can think from first principles, not necessarily from comparables.

Most managers are taught in business school, here's how a business is run, here's how this person did it, here's how this company did it. And then they go and they try and cookie cut or repeat that. That doesn't really work because every business, if it's going to be successful, it has to be unique.

Most managers are taught in business school, here's how a business is run, here's how this person did it, here's how this company did it. And then they go and they try and cookie cut or repeat that. That doesn't really work because every business, if it's going to be successful, it has to be unique.

And so the ability to actually think uniquely and identify from first principles, the means necessary to achieve the mission of the organization, I think is a critical, critical leadership trait. Maybe that, yeah, that leader can come from a founder or not, but this ability to kind of, yeah, ignore convention, ignore comparables and think for yourself.

And so the ability to actually think uniquely and identify from first principles, the means necessary to achieve the mission of the organization, I think is a critical, critical leadership trait. Maybe that, yeah, that leader can come from a founder or not, but this ability to kind of, yeah, ignore convention, ignore comparables and think for yourself.

Well, building a unique business. And I think if you look at Airbnb, and I'll give Brian Chesky incredible credit for this, you look at Uber, you look at how Steve Jobs built Apple, what every one of these businesses have in common is that they were all built in a unique way.

Well, building a unique business. And I think if you look at Airbnb, and I'll give Brian Chesky incredible credit for this, you look at Uber, you look at how Steve Jobs built Apple, what every one of these businesses have in common is that they were all built in a unique way.

And I think that's what makes great businesses is that they identify their own path, their own unique path for how to operate a business to scale to achieve the mission of the organization.

And I think that's what makes great businesses is that they identify their own path, their own unique path for how to operate a business to scale to achieve the mission of the organization.

And I think that that's what's typically lacking in trained managers who use comparables and biases from their prior experience and what they've been trained and taught to use as a cookie cutter type model, which doesn't create unique value. It makes your business look like the other, and ultimately it commoditizes some aspect of the business to the point that the value of the business goes down.

And I think that that's what's typically lacking in trained managers who use comparables and biases from their prior experience and what they've been trained and taught to use as a cookie cutter type model, which doesn't create unique value. It makes your business look like the other, and ultimately it commoditizes some aspect of the business to the point that the value of the business goes down.