‘Founder Mode’ Explains the Rise of Trump in Silicon Valley

Ms. Scott, the author of the book “Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity,” was an executive at Google and Apple.

Silicon Valley’s current fascination with a trendy management meme illustrates a broader and more troubling turn in certain powerful pockets of its culture — one that has seized our politics and could even unduly influence our election (again).

I’m talking about founder mode. A recently coined management style being celebrated by some venture capitalists, it embraces the notion that a company’s founder must make decisions unilaterally rather than partner with direct reports or frontline employees. All too often the extension of founder mode is to resist not only internal checks and balances but also those from the government.

I see founder mode as another expression of a creeping attraction to one-man rule in some corners of tech. (I use “man” intentionally, as only 3 percent of venture capital funding goes to solo female founders.) This neo-authoritarianism is nothing short of a rejection of the historical values that made Silicon Valley what it is today. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that a handful of the wealthiest and most powerful venture capitalists there are throwing their resources behind the re-election of Donald Trump.

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