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> The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization. It depends a lot on whether you own the organization
by dheera 3y ago
> The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization.
It depends a lot on whether you own the organization in entirety or not.
I could have a business that operates for 5 years, own 100% of it, then shut it down because of loss of market interest and not wanting to pivot it to a direction that I personally disagree with just for the sake of keeping the business alive.
I could consider it a 5-year success and just be happy with that.
If investors are involved it's a totally different story.
- WalterBright 3y ago> If investors are involved it's a totally different story. Well, when you take their money, they'll want a return on their investment.
- dheera 3y agoYeah totally. Just saying that TFA's thesis doesn't necessarily apply if the founder is mission-driven and 100% owns the organization. They might actually value the mission over the organization and be content when the mission is fulfilled. As a founder mindset person if I could bootstrap a business that gets me $50 million by curing cancer I'd be MORE THAN HAPPY to just retire on that $50 million, and open source all the IP so that anyone can make the drugs. I don't have a desire to be a billionaire over curing cancer. However, if you give up ownership during the process, things change. You have fiduciary duty to investors that would be violated if you just gave up all future revenue and open sourced everything. It would have to be a bootstrapped business in order to do the above.
- WalterBright 3y agoYou might change your mind if/when you reach $50m. Whatever one has becomes one's "new normal" and the goal posts just move. BTW, I open sourced my IP :-)
- georgeecollins 3y agoWhat you are describing is not a bureaucracy. The Iron Law is the Iron Law of Bureaucracy, not the Iron Law of personal projects.