Whatever it is, operating in Founder Mode will make it worse.

When teaching graphic design at a local university, I shared a Steve Jobs anecdote from a former Apple employee with my class.

When the former employee was there, the worst thing that could happen to you was to ride in an elevator with Steve Jobs. If you were sharing an elevator with Steve Jobs, he would ask “What do you do for me?” If he didn’t like your answer, you got fired.

“What an asshole!” a student yelled out. And she was 100% correct.

There’s been a lot of recent chatter about Founder Mode, and how Steve Jobs embodies Founder Mode. Most of that chatter is about how Founder Mode is good for companies and lionizes founders as the heroes in every business. That view is shortsighted. Founder Mode is another term for the Autocratic leadership style. Too often, that Founder Mode gives company founders a license to act like an asshole.

There are two reasons why Founder Mode puts companies at a grave disadvantage:

1. Founders who have their hands in everything do not collaborate, at all.

They don’t listen to their colleagues, even ones they have personally hired. As a designer, I have seen founders be micromanagers, again and again and again. I have seen founders…