Ignoring the HR issue for a moment: a company where the founder had dictatorial powers is a terrible company. The CFO should absolutely tell the manager they can’t make an investment that’s reckless and stupid. The Director of Engineering should absolutely tell the founder that they can’t add that cool-sounding feature because it’s an inherent security risk. A humble Jr QA Engineer should tell the founder they can’t say a bug is fixed when it is not fixed. And any of these people should find different work if the founder overrules them or tries to bully them into backing off.
You’re totally right! The difference between these examples and my previous HR example is that yours show employees doing what’s best for the company, while mine shows employees doing what’s best for HR.
You should never... and I mean never... TELL your boss (much less a founder or CEO) what they can and can't do.
That's a great way to torpedo your career.
"You can't invest $10 million in ergonomic chairs." should be "While ergonomic chairs are a good investment, we might be better served investing $10 million in our core competencies for now, and perhaps focus later on the chairs when our revenue stream is a bit more stable."
"You can't add cool-sounding feature because it's an inherent security risk." should be, "While cool-sounding feature does, indeed, sound cool, I'm concerned about the potential liability this might expose the company to, given that implementing cool-sounding feature causes <security issue> by its very nature. I could look at implementing something that mimics the functionality of cool-sounding feature, but keeps our products secure."
And lastly, Humble Jr. QA Engineer should say, "Mr./Mrs./Miss So-And-So, if I claim that bug <Z> is fixed when its not, this might come back to reflect negatively on our company when Customer Y reports that bug."
And lastly, almost every company's founder / CEO / leader has dictatorial powers. Companies aren't governments. You live and die by the good graces of those above you, and if you can get noticed by the people at the very top, and you consistently deliver for them, you'll have a far more pleasant work life.
Or just telling people what they can and can't do and see how that one works out for you...
