A few weeks ago, Paul Graham published Founder Mode, about a management style practiced by Brian Chesky at Airbnb that was at least partially inspired

God Mode

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2024-10-17 14:30:07

A few weeks ago, Paul Graham published Founder Mode, about a management style practiced by Brian Chesky at Airbnb that was at least partially inspired by Steve Jobs.

As Paul states in Founder Mode, "It seems to be working. Airbnb's free cash flow margin is now among the best in Silicon Valley."

That's what Paul refers to in his essay as "manager mode," which is already commonly taught in business school and practiced in all kinds of businesses around the world. Therefore, optimization isn't enough to build the singular businesses investors like Paul are hoping to invest in.

Destruction is akin to invasive surgery, and similar to surgery, it's only possible with a god-like omniscience about the entire system.

(This also means that god mode is only possible within the rare businesses where a single person can have complete omniscience about their business; companies like Gumroad and Airbnb.)