The data does not lie.
Fortune recently published Is 'founder mode' or 'manager mode' better? Here's what the 22 Fortune 500 companies still run by founders show
The data screams. Fortune's analysis suggests the following:
- Cumulative total return during the founder CEO's tenures - a 20:1 return difference of founder CEOs relative to the rest of the 500.
- Performance vs the sector (performance score of 100 equals the sector) - the founder-CEO companies delivered over a 6x score.
Operating in "Founder Mode" is not for the faint of heart. It is a mindset, a relentless state of drive where a founder must juggle vision, execution, and team alignment—all while pushing the boundaries of what is possible. It is the mode in which the founder's unstoppable passion and energy fuels the company’s momentum. However, without mastery over key operational practices like the Rockefeller Habits, the dream of scaling your business will undoubtedly collapse under the weight of inconsistency, missed opportunities, and talent retention issues. This is not a place where you can afford softness.
There is no middle ground between winning and failing.
What is Founder Mode?
Founder Mode was popularized by Paul Graham in his September 1, 2024 blog.
Founder Mode is the gear that switches on when a business owner decides to aggressively scale their company. It involves being hyper-focused on growth while ensuring the organization functions like a well-oiled machine. It demands rapid decision-making, an obsessive focus on the company’s core objectives, and unwavering accountability. Founder Mode is not about "trying"—it is about decisively acting, failing fast, and iterating without losing momentum. You must live in this mode, or you risk drifting toward mediocrity.
However, operating in Founder Mode is only sustainable if you have the structure in place that enables you to focus on high-impact decisions. This is where adoption of the Rockefeller Habits is essential. Adoption of the Rockefeller Habits provides the framework necessary to ensure that every cog in your machine works seamlessly so that you can operate in Founder Mode. Without these critical habits, your world and that of your people is likely to be filled with unnecessary friction and drama. Without the Rockefeller Habits, you are essentially operating on borrowed time.
Founder Mode A-Holes and Toxic Work Environment
I am speaking from direct experience. have operated in Founder Mode with my own businesses. I have observed Clients attempt to operate in Founder Mode. I have first had experience observing the porpoising of performance. I have observed the whiplash people go through when their founder is operating in Founder Mode without the Rockefeller Habits being locked in.
Long story short - there is a direct relationship to successfully operating in Founder Mode relative to the level of adoption of The Rockefeller Habits.
If you and your team do not have the Rock Habits locked in, odds are your people view you, the founder, as an A-Hole creating a toxic work environment. Without the Rock Habits locked in, your people likely view you with a mix of adulation and loathing.
The Rockefeller Habits: A Non-Negotiable for Founder Mode
Mastering the ten Rockefeller Habits is imperative for anyone serious about operating in Founder Mode. These habits form the backbone of operational excellence. Let us break them down:
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The Executive Team is Healthy and Aligned: If your executive team is not in sync, expect cracks in your business. Expect wasted time and energy. Expect unnecessary drama. Weekly strategic meetings, ongoing education, and constructive debates are non-negotiable. If your leadership team is disjointed, you will lack the firepower needed to drive execution and Founder Mode absolutely requires execution.
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Everyone is Aligned on the #1 Priority: A company cannot effectively execute if the team is chasing too many rabbits. Quarterly priorities must be clearly defined, posted, and celebrated. When this is missing, ambiguity reigns, and progress stalls. Founder Mode and ambiguity regarding what is most important right now do not mix.
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Communication Rhythm is Established: Information must flow quickly and accurately through the organization. If you are not meeting daily, weekly, and monthly to ensure strategic alignment, chaos will creep in, paralyzing decision-making.
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Clear Accountability: Every role, every process, and every key financial element must have someone accountable. In the absence of clear accountability, your team will flounder under vague expectations, leading to friction and underperformance.
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Employee Feedback is Regular and Actionable: Input from your employees is the lifeblood of innovation and improvement. You must be gathering their insights weekly and acting on them. If you neglect this, you will create a culture where problems fester.
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Customer Feedback is Frequent and Precise: Customer data should be treated with the same urgency as financial data. If you are not in constant communication with those who pay your bills, if you are out of touch, you leave the door wide open for competitors to steal your market share.
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Core Values and Purpose are Alive: A team without purpose is a team without a "North Star" - without direction. Your core values and purpose must guide every decision, action, and hire. Anything less breeds a culture of complacency, and complacency is a silent killer.
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Strategy is Understood by All: If your people cannot articulate your company’s BHAG® (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), your brand promises, and core Customer profiles, you have lost control of your narrative. A disoriented team leads to missed opportunities. You cannot operate in Founder Mode if your people are disoriented.
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KPIs are Visible and Measured: Every person in the company must know whether they had a good day or week. Without clear KPIs tied to individual roles, there is no accountability, and no way to identify inefficiencies. Success must be measurable. Founder Mode absolutely requires accountability.
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Company Plans and Performance are Transparent: Your company’s performance metrics, priorities, and core values should be visible to everyone. Transparency fosters accountability, which is essential for alignment and execution at scale.
The Critical Importance of A-Players
Founder Mode is not for everyone, and neither is your business. You must hire A-Players—those who have the stamina and mental toughness to endure the grind. These are people who thrive in high-pressure environments, people who do not just "try," but take decisive action. An A-Player is resilient, adaptable, and obsessed with success. An A-Player fervently embraces the Rock Habits because they shape predictable performance.
The friction, drama, and burnout occur when you lower the bar and allow mediocrity to fester. B and C-Players will only add drag to your momentum, creating drama, and forcing you to micromanage when you should be focusing on big-picture strategy. To win, you must attract, hire, and retain A-Players who are aligned with your company’s values and purpose. They must have the stomach to endure the relentless pace and focus of Founder Mode.
The Friction and Drama of Ignoring the Rockefeller Habits
If you ignore the power of Rockefeller Habits adoption, you and your people will inevitably experience chaos. Communication will break down, priorities will become murky, and accountability will erode. Goals will be like pinning jello to the wall. The friction in your company will escalate, with team members operating at cross-purposes. This drama will undoubtedly pull you out of Founder Mode and into the realm of firefighting. Instead of scaling, you will spend your days putting out fires caused by inefficiencies and misalignment. Instead of scaling, you will be responding what some may describe as a toxic work environment.
The decision is binary. Choose to master the Rockefeller Habits, or choose mediocrity. There is no in-between.
Your Path to Success or Mediocrity
Founder Mode is only sustainable if your organization is mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Without this framework, you will burn out before reaching your goals, and your team will be frustrated and flounder. Your A-Players will leave... Consistency and operational discipline are essential to scaling. If you do not operate in Founder Mode with the right structure in place, you are simply fooling yourself. You cannot allow softness in your approach and expect to win. The path to mediocrity is paved with indecision and half-hearted execution. The path to success, on the other hand, is clear, direct, and uncompromising.
So, ask yourself—are you prepared to master the Rockefeller Habits and commit to operating in Founder Mode with minimal friction and drama? Will you take bold, decisive action? Or will you allow yourself to fall into the trap of "trying," inevitably leading your business down the road to mediocrity?
The choice is yours, but know this: only one path leads to winning. Choose carefully.
Call on me to guide you and your team in your journey. The best is yet to come.
Chris Young is a Trusted Advisor To Founders / CEOs | Certified Scaling Up Coach | Builder of People, Leaders, Teams & Economic Moats | Strategist and proud founder of The Rainmaker Group.
