a16z founder Ben Horowitz explains how startup CEOs should think about delegation

But you only get leverage if the person that you hire can do it better than you can. Because as long as you feel like you're better than them at it, then you're just going to keep second guessing them and you're not going to get any leverage. And a lot of times I'll be talking to CEOs and they'll have an executive and they'll be like, no, this person's really good and they're working really hard. And I'm like, well, but you're always frustrated about, you always feel like you have to do that yourself. And it's like, yeah, because they don't understand how to do this and that. And I'm like, well then they're not an executive. Because the whole point of an executive is to get you leverage. And so on a question like that, it's like, okay, where can you find the right person and make the hire to get you leverage? And wherever that is, that's what you should give up first. And you want leverage and all spots because as CEO you can be the keeper of the vision, the quality control over the top, but you can't be the lead engineer forever. There is no. And it doesn't matter how good an engineer like Larry Page, as great an engineer as he was, is not an engineer at Google. He just isn't. And he cannot work on production products. It's a full time job. Even for somebody who can do as many things as Larry, he cannot do that and nobody can. Like, if Larry can't do it, you can't do it either, I guarantee you. And so you're going to have to give them all up. And so it's just a matter of like, where do you get the leverage?