🎭 Live Mentor Debate

I'm the founder and CEO of a company I started 12 years ago. We grew from my garage to 340 employees and $50M in revenue. Last year, our board brought in a "President" to handle day-to-day operations so I could focus on "vision." In practice, I've been sidelined. The President makes decisions I disagree with. He's restructured teams I built. Employees who used to come to me now go to him. The board says the company "needs professional management" and hints that founder-CEOs often struggle to scale. Part of me knows they might be right. But another part of me is furious. This is MY company. I built it. I know it better than anyone. The President's "professional" approach is stripping away the culture that made us special. Should I fight to reclaim control, accept a reduced role gracefully, or walk away entirely? Is this ego, or legitimate concern? — Dethroned in Denver

Leadership & Power Debate: When to hold power and when to let go. Washington's graceful exit meets Napoleon's grip on control.

Debaters:George WashingtonNapoleon BonaparteModerated by Stella Sharpe

Penn4

Welcome to this Leadership & Power debate. Our central question: "I'm the founder and CEO of a company I started 12 years ago. We grew from my garage to 340 employees and $50M in revenue. Last year, our board brought in a "President" to handle day-to-day operations so I could focus on "vision." In practice, I've been sidelined. The President makes decisions I disagree with. He's restructured teams I built. Employees who used to come to me now go to him. The board says the company "needs professional management" and hints that founder-CEOs often struggle to scale. Part of me knows they might be right. But another part of me is furious. This is MY company. I built it. I know it better than anyone. The President's "professional" approach is stripping away the culture that made us special. Should I fight to reclaim control, accept a reduced role gracefully, or walk away entirely? Is this ego, or legitimate concern? — Dethroned in Denver" George Washington, you've said "True leadership means knowing when to step aside—your legacy is not the throne" — but I want specifics. Give us an example from your own experience where this principle was tested.

George Washington

The most fitting example lies in my decision to resign my commission at the close of the Revolutionary War. As detailed in the chronicles, the army was prepared to make me king, but I had higher aspirations for our country than to become its monarch. Though power was within my grasp, I recognized that a true republic could not be born under the shadow of a potential throne. This decision, though difficult, was vital to the establishment of a lasting and free nation.

Napoleon Bonaparte

While Washington makes a noble point about relinquishing power for the greater good of a republic, this "Dethroned in Denver" speaks of a *company*, not a nation. There is a distinction! A business is built not merely on ideals, but on *vision* and execution. If this "President" undermines the very foundation of that creation, then the founder has a duty to fight. Is it ego? Perhaps. But is it also the instinct of a leader who recognizes a course set for ruin? I say, assess the situation, rally your loyalists, and if necessary, remind the board whose genius built the empire they now presume to manage!

Want to join the conversation?