Michael Scott Is Secretly In Founder Mode

Is this Founder Mode? Is your company in Founder Mode? And what even is Founder Mode? These are the questions, and here's the answer. It's the difference between doing your life's work or fading into mediocrity. Paul Graham himself said Founder Mode isn't even defined yet. That all we have are the experiments of founders who've been figuring it out for themselves. So this is my take as one of those founders. Paul Graham also predicted that once we figure out Founder Mode, we'll learn it's what a lot of founders were already doing while everyone else thought they're just eccentric and weird. Well, a lot of people think Michael Scott's just eccentric and weird, but today we'll explore whether he was actually in Founder Mode. In the process, you're going to learn exactly what Founder Mode looks like, how to spot it in your company and yourself, and how to and practical tips for developing it. The Office is obviously ridiculous, but it draws out hidden dynamics that are happening at your company. So as funny as it is, this should be eye opening too.

Listen up everybody. I have some news. All I can do right now is put on a brave face and go out there and be their leader. We are screwed. What about us, Michael?

Do we still have jobs? I don't know.

Probably not.

I mean, I have to say this is basically Founder Mode, where you're kind of telling the truth and you're telling it in a brutal way. If you do that, you're gonna build trust and you're gonna build a team that's willing to go to bat and do what it takes to win or do what it takes to get out of a problem. I would only say that, like, you better be ready to answer the questions that people have when you do this. If you do do it. If you're on a team that's hiding bad news, the thing is, everyone can see it. Just pay attention to first, people chatting to each other literally just to share secrets and rumors about what may or may not be happening in the company. Second, little slights and comments that just make you think, did they really just drop that bomb? And third, anytime you feel you have to work differently with someone because they're not supposed to know the full truth. To get more Founder Mode with this, leaders try not to lie for a week and see what happens. What things do you feel resistance to being honest about and why? If you think someone can't handle the truth, that's probably a sign of deeper issue that needs solving. If you're not a leader and your team doesn't give you the truth. Honestly, it's going to be hard to change, but you could start by becoming someone who can handle the truth. Meaning you don't panic and instead you get solutions focused. Then you could just start asking a few more questions to get to the truth.

Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like this compulsive need to be liked. Like my need to be praised.

Okay, this is so good. I love it. He's clearly talking out of his ass. He's like, no, but also yes, 100%. And honestly, this is a lot of people. We all want to be liked. It's really hard to get away from this instinct. But if you can't do it, you're not in founder mode. Because founders aren't designed to be liked. They have to make sure everyone knows the reality and what to do about it. And if they need to get in the details of people's work to make sure it's excellent, then that's what they'll do, even if people won't like them for it. If you ignore what's actually happening just so people like you, the truth eventually catches up. So here's what you need to look out for. Pay attention to your instincts when dealing with people. Are you doing that thing because it would help the company or help your feelings? And you can even remove yourself from the situation by asking, hey, if I was coaching someone else on this, would I advise them to do the same thing? My number one tip for overcoming this is to go deep on where your need to be liked comes from. What happened to you in childhood that caused you to have this need to be liked? What is it that you learned? Is it because you're determining your self worth based on what someone else thinks about you? When it comes to needing to be liked, the courage to be disliked is the book to read. And if you guys have this worry of being liked by everyone, I would read the book.

Today we're going to be talking.

About.

PowerPoint.

PowerPoint, PowerPoint, PowerPoint. And the best way to start is to hit start. And up comes the toolbar. And then we are going to register. You hit register. Updates already? I should Update estimated time 12 minutes. So this should take about 5 or 10 minutes.

Okay, this is ridiculous. But it's not even that ridiculous. People might dress it up better in real life, but I swear there are meetings as bad as this. I've been in them. You've been in Them. This is not founder mode at all, because founder mode is about delivering clarity and having impact. And meetings like this do the exact opposite. Honestly, we've all seen this before. It's just that feeling of, like, why are we even here? So most important is what you can do about it. First, don't do meetings that fit any of these categories. One, there's no agenda. Two, there's no clear goal. And three, you could do it in a document or even a message like sharing an update. And if you can't remove meetings, then go improve the ones you're already having. Be the person who asks, hey, what's the agenda here? What are we trying to get out of this? Try to get everyone to focus towards a decision and just generally do a little more prep than everyone else so you can bring that founder heard you're having money problems.

Listen, I got the answer. You declare bankruptcy, all your problems go away. How would that help Creed? In Monopoly, you go bankrupt, you lose. That game is nuts. Nobody just picks up get out of jail free cards. Those things cost thousands. That is a good point. I declare.

Bankruptcy.

It's very fascinating how quickly he was able to change his mind just off of new information. I think that part is the founder mode part. I'd be like, all right, that's awesome. Obviously, you don't want to do that all day, and you want to make sure your team's on board. Cool, fine. But that's what you need to do in founder mode. It's like you get new data, make a different decision, and do it fast. And don't spend a lot of time debating it unless it's, like, a decision you can't come back from. What you want to look out for on this one is when someone has an idea and then you get a signal from the market that it probably won't work. Does that person get defensive or do they update their plans to make your company more founder mode with this, focus on yourself first. When you hear new information, pay attention to how you react. Are you just protecting your idea? Are you doing what's best for the company? And are you being driven by logic or emotion? If you're feeling lots of emotions, that's a red flag that you need to watch out for. Try being more open to what you could be missing.

He heard you made a big splash at the meeting. Oh, my God. That was so mean what I just said.

And I didn't mean it. It was.

Kevin and Meredith put me up to it. Okay. I'm gonna kill you, Michael.

Don't listen to them.

Thank you, Stanley.

You just ignore their carpet. Okay?

Carp is both a fish and a term for complaining. They're mocking you with wordplay. Hey, boss, did you find Nemo? I could name Pixar movies, too. Toy Story. Don't you mean Toy Story?

Okay, this is funny in the office and sad in real life, because these environments with constant turf wars and politics, are toxic and unproductive. So Dunder Mifflin was not founder mode here in founder mode, everyone's on the same page and they're focused on customers and impact, not internal politics. Now, when it comes to spotting this in your company, it can actually be kind of hard because the whole problem is people hiding things. One thing you can do is check out your company on blind. This isn't an ad, but Blind is an app where people share gossipy nonsense about their workplace. And if people are using that outside the company, you have some things to fix inside the company. But the most powerful thing you can do to spot this is actually the same thing you do to solve it. You need to create an environment where people are willing to tell the truth. This means reacting calmly to news and feedback, no matter how good or bad it is, and normalizing hard conversations where people speak openly. If you want to action this right now, think of the conversation you're most scared to have, because I guarantee you, there is one. Now pause this video and message that person to book a chat. I'll wait.

I want to hear some great ideas from you that are just as good as mine.

We own our own delivery trucks. We could lease them out on the weekends. Too many words. Good ideas are simple.

Oftentimes when someone's in founder mode, they can sound exactly like that. Very, like, affirmative, very directive, dismissing ideas, saying they suck, blah, blah, blah. It's not very conducive to building a strong, healthy culture or team, though. And that's where I would say that we can confuse Founder mode with a tyrant. We, of course, know Michael is a tyrant. So this is a zero on founder mode, in my opinion, because it's just done incorrectly. If you want great ideas from the team, you have to, like, let them be creative and be open to hearing their ideas, even if they're crappy ideas. Instead, Michael was looking for something else here. I think he was looking to stroke his ego. Founder mode is not about stroking your ego. You'll notice this at your company by how fearful you are to share your ideas and what actually happens when people share them. What's the first thing someone else says to get more Founder Mode on this. You need to give ideas room to breathe. It doesn't mean you have to go do every little thing people come up with, but it does mean you need to hear them out. And if you're in a team where no one else takes that approach, they're just shutting everything down. Go find a new job. Seriously. It's too important. So, Final Reflections. Is Michael Scott in Founder Mode or is he really just eccentric? Well, he showed flashes of potential and we have to respect what he's done over at Dunder Mifflin, but I'm going to have to say he's mostly just eccentric. We can thank him, though, for some insights into what Founder Mode is, how you can spot it, and actions you can take at your company. Following this advice will be hard and scary, but trust me, it's worth it. If you can get your company in Founder Mode, you'll all do the best work of your life.