There are aspects of Jason’s style running Mahalo that mesh with my own beliefs, what I refer to as my interpretation of the D.I.Y. (do it yourself) ethic. Specifically:

1. We are all peers – You are no better than your audience or your colleagues. There is no celebrity in DIY. The people enjoying your creativity are creators themselves.
2. Trust your audience – Ask for and accept their support. Reject the temptation to restrict their access to your creativity, and never break your covenant with them.

Though I don’t think Jason thinks of these things as part of the DIY ethic, and he and I have never discussed it directly, the fact that he opens the door to feedback, discussion, and input from his employees and from our users is one of the reasons I work for Mahalo.com.

These days, openness and accessibility on the web is not a weakness, or a sign of uncertainty. It’s a sign of mutual trust, and an acknowledgment of the interdependence between company and user… user and user… peers. I’m always a little turned off when a Web 2.0 company takes the “walled garden” tack, no matter how much I might enjoy their service otherwise, and I feel the same way when people running companies shut themselves away, too.

Despite the assumed “cewebrity” status of someone like Jason Calacanis, and the playful willingness with which he adopts this role, I believe he gets that there’s really no room for anyone on the web to truly believe it of themselves or anyone else.

Jimmy, in the comments, asked “with all that responding and networking, when does he have time to run his company?”

I submit that responding to feedback, networking with users, and engaging everyone with an interest in what Mahalo.com is doing… that is a huge part of running this or any other company. If Jason wasn’t spending so much time on this, I’d be concerned.

Full disclosure: I am one of the Community Managers of the Mahalo Greenhouse. I’ve been with the company since April of 2007.

My only question is, with all that responding and networking, when does he have time to run his company?

——
Sincerely,

The Mentally Retired mad scientist behind the WackyLabs LLC movement.

I am glad you ran this as a separate post. I think Mahalo is doing a great job of getting attention and seeking feedback. Feedback is most important to improving a product and it does not mean the CEO is clueless. Instead it shows that CEO is dedicated to consistent product improvement and helps further reinforce the trust that the team has in the CEOs leadership!

Sameer
ProProfs.com

I am NOT saying a CEO shouldn’t solicit feedback – I agree that it’s crucial, but there is a difference. Check out what Wesabe is doing for a good example of a CEO asking for feedback.

I stand firm that there is a difference between asking for feedback and waving a white flag that says, "I have no idea how to lead this company so you tell me please". Perhaps my title was wrong.

And of course you leave out that feeding the staff lunch helps you keep them on the clock instead of going out for a break – don’t worry, this is something that has become mainstream these days.

I posted a follow up to the follow up at http://www.calacanis.com

I’ve been involved with 3 startups (one I sold as a founder, one I worked at as an employee, and my current effort just got funded) I’ve learned amazing things from users. As Jason says, the more you build software the more you accumulate instincts that are probably right… But there’s still plenty of room to be wrong.

By engaging people on a strategic and tactical level, Jason is encouraging a sense of ownership in Mahalo. Customers feel heard, feel loved (Jason is apparantly FULL of love), and Jason gets valuable feedback from the people outside the “echo chamber”.

Decision making can be consultative or collaborative. Jason isn’t ceding control of decision making– he’s just collecting opinions and then presumably making decisions (which may or may not always match with the majority opinion).

There are too many damn CEOs who go about their days with the attitude of “I am the expert, I know what’s best– shut up and let me decide”. Napoleon taught the world that a general is more effective with a staff– Jason is leveraging technology to harness a staff of thousands. Kudos to him!

Finally, I am downright amazed that you think that people won’t have faith in a leader who asks for outside opinions.

I am into female bloggers :)

- “How would you get Mahalo Daily to 250k daily viewers?”
- “What would you do as Mahalo CEO?”

are not the same as:

- “I dont know how to grow this to 250K viewers. Please help me!”
- ” Tell what what I should do as CEO”

I think they are questions that can help get some awesome feedback flowing. Mahalo is a product that is the very fast moving space and needs to evolve quickly. Though I have to admit I dont use it however the only reason I feel it *may* do well is cos they are seeking feedback and consistently improving.

While I agree that “What would you do as Mahalo CEO?” is not the best question to ask, however it is likely to get more enthusiastic response than “Tell us ways you would improve Mahalo” which sounds a very boring question.

Seriously, my plans for what Mahalo will be will take 3-5 years to realize… so, I could very easily just shut down my blog, twitter, linkedin, and Facebook and build. However, it’s much more interesting and beneficial to have folks engaged in the product design.

It’s frankly boring to just build a product in isolation. I’m not asking for feedback because I don’t know what to do, I’m asking because it’s smart for the reasons I outlined.
j

Why can’t more CEOs be like Jason?