I was listening to [Gary Tan](https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/garry-tan/) on one of my favourite podcasts, _The Knowledge Project_ with Shane Parrish, and a segment around the 49-minute mark really struck me. I wanted to jot it down and share it with you - it’s one of those insights that sticks because it challenges the default advice most founders hear. The core idea is to build a successful company, you have to **take ownership.** It’s not enough to hire a smart executive team and hope they’ll figure it all out. That’s the classic management mantra: hire the best, give them lots of rope, and trust the magic will happen. But Gary and others, like Brian Chesky, argue that this often leads to chaos, not clarity. Brian puts it bluntly: if you don’t **explicitly and actively** shape the company, it stops being yours. It drifts. Executives run the show but without alignment or accountability, it turns into a game of politics. Fiefdoms emerge. Teams pull in different directions. And when the founder or CEO isn’t truly leading, no one really has power. The result is **Dysfunction**. Low retention. Wasted money. A lot of people doing busy work, or worse working _against_ each other. This dynamic played out in company after company across Silicon Valley. Only recently are founders waking up to how broken this model is. The issue gets even messier when capital is used like a **blunt instrument.** Instead of fuelling smart risks and bold growth, money is spent hoarding “scarce” talent. Talent that ends up underused, or stuck in the wrong roles, just to keep them “in the building.” That mindset kills innovation and morale. > If you want to build something great, you have to _own it._ > > You need to be present, make hard calls, take risks, and lead by example. > > Empower your team but don’t disappear. > > Use capital to unlock growth, not as a shield to hoard people. Relevant ideas: [[Founder Mode]] | [[High Agency]] | [[Ordering Chaos]]