2 HN users recommended this explainer2 months2017–2019score 2
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN commenters cite it as a compact illustration of empowered, decentralized leadership, for founders and for managers who try to control everything.
An animated adaptation of Captain David Marquet's talk on greatness, based on his book Turn the Ship Around!. It argues for pushing decision-making down to the people doing the work instead of controlling everything from the top.
“Watch this: as a jumpstart to getting your org ready for life without you” (HN, 2017)
How big is the company? You're right to identify this as a hard problem. I've been in your exact shoes before. 100+ person company, the weight is heavy. The good news is that it's totally possible to get out without wrecking the company's outlook. But it does take a minor amount of time investment. Perhaps it's possible to view it as a new challenge: how to quickly hire or find someone within your org who is capable of taking over your day-to-day responsibilities? Who do people ask for decisions / advice when you're out sick? Frame it as a promotion for them. Give them a (small) comp bump and a new set of responsibilities that include most (or all) of your existing responsibilities. Coach them for a quarter, give them enough rope to hang themselves with, give them radically candid feedback, and then you can step away. (Or even go do something else interesting at the company!) I can go into a lot more detail if you'd like -- please email me. The username in my profile (not my HN handle) at gmail. Good luck, positive vibes! P.S. Watch this: [this video] as a jumpstart to getting your org ready for life without you
Prepares an org to run without its founder via empowered leadership.
> managers aren't able to keep up and so might find themselves in a position where when they first started managing they were an expert.... Reminds me of this. The value is in the audio but the animation is entertaining. [this video]
Animated talk on management; the audio carries the value.
I entirely agree with you. This is the same idea in the Greatness video by David Marquet ( [this video] ) Try to control everything is just futile. I think hiring and retaining best people is the best countermeasure to this sort of things.
Makes the case that trying to control everything is futile.
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