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Alisa Cohn: Founders who reject hierarchy and process inevitably end up needing them

Alisa Cohn · Scripts for navigating difficult conversations | Alisa Cohn (executive coach) · Jan 5, 2025 · at 48:42

Executive coach Alisa Cohn argues against founders attempting to reinvent basic management frameworks like hierarchy and OKRs from scratch.

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“At the end of the day, what happens is they kind of invent for themselves the understanding that they need to have process, hierarchy, roles and responsibilities, goals, OKRs, whatever it is. And I think it's helpful sometimes to go through that, that, that fire of thinking we can do it a different way. But ultimately, I think that the ways to like Structure a group of people and get them organized so that they can win are kind of like well-trod. And I would say that it's helpful to get through that stage quickly so that you don't have to constantly reinvent the wheels of leadership.”

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