Brad Feld writes about the responsibility of running companies:
I started noticing that many of the strong CEOs I work with owned whatever was going on at their company. There was simplicity in this - no blame, no excuses, no justification. They just took ownership.
He was clear minded. He knew what was working, what wasn't working, and what he needed to change. And he took responsibility for it.
There's a growing culture of founders to abdicate their decision-making, especially among first-timers. They either abdicate to processes and methodologies, or to advisors and investors. Since they don't own their decisions, they feel they're not to blame when things don't go as planned. It becomes a vicious cycle.
Experienced founders aren't afraid to ask questions, but they're usually looking for information rather than instructions. They realise that nobody knows more about their business than they do, so they've got to make the calls.
Taking responsibility is a key characteristic in any leader, not just a startup founder.