Sam Altman’s Management Shift Rekindles ‘Founder Mode’ Debate

Sam Altman is shifting gears. OpenAI announced this week that the chief executive officer will dive deeper into AI research and product development while Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap picks up more daily management responsibilities at the company.

Altman’s move reignites a topic that’s been smoldering since last year when entrepreneur and investor Paul Graham coined the term “founder mode,” in which founders remain entrenched in the operations and direction of their maturing companies. Often these leaders end up diving deeper into the core product or the technical side of their company — which is something a CEO hired from the outside probably wouldn’t do, since professional managers are typically trained and expected to delegate that kind of work.

“Any one person can’t do it all,” said BJ Wright, a partner at consulting firm ghSMART, which conducted research on what sets founder CEOs apart from their non-founding counterparts. According to the firm’s research, founders tend to have “spikier” traits — exceptional strengths but also pronounced weaknesses — compared with non-founders. They also tend to be deeply psychologically invested in the business.

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