In this week’s Build I’ve got an exploration of three perspectives on the foundations that shape how founders can work and lead. Rishad Tobaccowala examines the difference between rulers and leaders, Phil Adams looks at how authentic values create competitive advantage and Mike Fisher warns about the hidden costs of cultural neglect.
Together these articles make a compelling case that the so called “soft” stuff – values, culture and leadership – isn’t actually soft at all. I know from much of my work that these things are actually the infrastructure that determines whether organisations thrive or implode.
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RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK #1
On rules and rulers
In this article Rishad Tobaccowala distinguishes between rulers who hold power and leaders who inspire influence, arguing that true leadership requires six key behaviours: competence, realism, integrity, empathy, vulnerability and inspiration. The piece also explores how understanding different people’s internal measures of success is essential for effective collaboration.
My take:
This resonated with me because it cuts through the leadership platitudes to something more useful: the recognition that leaders and rulers aren’t the same thing. Understanding what drives people matters more than imposing your own metrics or mental models on them as a founder.
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RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK #2
Their values are stronger than yours
Phil Adams looks at Buttondown’s approach to company values, pushing the idea that meaningful values need to be arguable rather than bland and agreeable. He advocates for them to be written as specific principles rather than single words. Buttondown’s CEO Justin Duke explains that values only work when reasonable people can disagree with them, demonstrating how customer support as a “profit centre” reflects both strategic choice and cultural commitment.
My take:
For me this is a masterclass in how values should actually work: as active principles that guide decisions rather than decorative statements that gather dust on an About page or a faded poster on the office wall. The observation that most companies share identical single word values with organisations they’d never want to be associated with is both funny and a bit damning too. It exposes how little thought goes into this supposedly foundational work that founders talk about.
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RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK #3
Culture debt – the invisible interest of speed
Mike Fisher introduces the concept of “culture debt” – the hidden cost of neglecting the systems governing how people work together. He draws parallels with technical debt but argues it’s more dangerous because it erodes trust rather than just slowing code. He shows how culture debt accumulates through small compromises where rewards diverge from stated values, eventually compounding into crises that can destabilise entire organisations.
My take:
This useful for any founder who’s ever prioritised speed over cultural maintenance (which in my experience is most of us). The comparison to technical debt is good, but the crucial insight for me is that culture debt lives in people’s memories and relationships, making it far harder to refactor than code.
From the Build archive
Build #72 –
From chaos to culture: why the best founders don’t scale alone
The stages of the founder growth journey unpacked with a handy three stage framework for founders.
Build #28 –
Books for leaders – my recommendations
The books that I most frequently recommend to clients to help them grow as founder leaders.
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