is to support the founder, rather than to lead the mission. Staff may be chosen due to their personal loyalty to the founder rather than skills, organizational fit, or experience. Board members may be under-qualified, under-informed or intimidated and will typically be unable to answer basic questions without checking first. Professionally trained and talented recruits, often recruited to resolve difficulties in the organization, find that they are not able to contribute in an effective and professional way. The founder begins to believe their own press/PR and other marketing related issues. The founder, who is usually the CEO or managing director, suffers HiPPO (Highest-paid-person's opinion), which means that often their ideas, decisions, etc. keep winning over the actual better ideas, decisions, etc. The founder becomes increasingly paranoid as delegation is required, or business management needs are greater than their training or experience. Falling into two traps: Actions without a goal or Wrong actions based on defined goal The founder responds to increasingly challenging issues by accentuating the above, leading to further difficulties. Anyone who challenges this cycle will be treated as a disruptive influence and will be ignored, ridiculed or removed. The working environment will be increasingly difficult with decreasing trust. The organization becomes increasingly reactive, rather than proactive. Alternatively, the founder or the board may recognize the issue and take effective action. Responses Novel management and leadership There exists no single cure against founder's syndrome, as every new business endeavor is different, however companies (newly founded or larger organizations with internal groups) are providing new insights and answer to the problem. A good example for better managing is Gallup's 12: The Elements of Great Managing, which is a survey-based work or Google's re:Work project, which is available to internal managers and the public. Plan of action Coping with founder's syndrome requires discussion of the problem, a plan of action, and interventions by the founder, the board, and/or by others involved in the organization. The objective of the plan should be to allow the organization to make a successful transition to a mature organizational model without damage to either the organization itself or the individuals concerned. Criticism Despite the negative and positive symptoms listed above, according to one study focused on "knowledge-intensive technology" companies, founders with a so-called hands-on management style, which can be interpreted as micromanagement or obsessive or similar, are more likely to retain employees and see their firms