In an unconventional approach to corporate leadership, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has developed a unique communication style that involves writing extensive essay-type messages on the company's internal Slack platform. The Google and Amazon-backed AI startup leader uses this method to spark detailed written discussions that significantly influence both the company's culture and strategic direction.
The Essay-Driven Leadership Style
According to Sholto Douglas, a Member of the Technical Staff at Anthropic, Amodei regularly publishes what he describes as "very, very well-reasoned essays" on Slack. These lengthy communications trigger comprehensive debates throughout the organization, with employees engaging in what Douglas calls "giant essay-length debates" about the company's future direction.
These essays serve multiple purposes beyond immediate decision-making. They create an ongoing historical record of Anthropic's evolution, allowing employees to track how the company's thinking and strategy have developed over time. Douglas emphasized the value of this documentation, noting that "the essays are really nice because you can go back and read all the past ones, and it tells the history of Anthropic."
Creating Transparency and Historical Record
The detailed written approach provides unprecedented transparency into the CEO's thought process. Douglas explained that "whenever we're debating different things, he will lay out the pros and cons and how he's thinking about them, and you know why this one's a tension or why that one's a moral struggle." This openness allows employees to understand the reasoning behind major decisions and even challenge them directly through their own written responses.
This method has become particularly valuable for tracking the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Douglas highlighted that "in many respects, it will be one of the better things, a decade from now, to chart the history of AGI. We'll be reading this compendium of essays." The documentation provides a unique window into how one of the leading AI companies approaches the complex challenge of developing advanced artificial intelligence.
Expert Opinions on Essay-Based Leadership
Leadership experts have offered mixed perspectives on Amodei's approach. Andre Spicer, a professor of organisational behaviour at City, St George's, University of London, acknowledged that "leadership by essay has some upsides — it forces more careful deliberative thinking on the part of the leader and follower." However, he cautioned that it might "act as a distraction from action" and potentially "create a wider culture of analysis paralysis."
Cary Cooper, a professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Manchester's Business School, expressed concerns about the potential for creating distance between leadership and employees. He noted that "this seems to be a less confrontational approach by the CEO rather than a face-to-face dialogue" and warned it might be viewed as "an 'avoidance approach' rather than a dialogue."
On the positive side, Grace Lordan, founding director of the Inclusion Initiative and associate professor at the London School of Economics, found significant value in the method. She explained it demonstrates "a commitment to intellectual rigour and traceability" while increasing openness and giving employees "a clear record" of leadership decisions.
Building Coherent Company Direction
Despite being a "very recent" approach according to Douglas, the essay-based communication method has helped create what he describes as "a coherent sense of direction across the entire company." The extensive documentation means that "many people — or really the entire company — have a good model of how he's thinking," creating alignment throughout the organization.
This culture of written debate represents a stark contrast to Silicon Valley's typically meeting-heavy approach. Douglas highlighted that this essay-based culture "has become part of Anthropic's identity," offering an entirely different alternative to what he characterizes as the "often chaotic meeting culture" prevalent in the tech industry.
The approach does come with challenges, as noted by Lordan, who pointed out that "writing takes more time upfront" and can "risk excluding people who communicate better verbally than in text." She suggested that the most effective leaders should blend "written pre-work for clarity and preparation" with "focused live meetings to pressure-test assumptions" and "concise written follow-ups" that record decisions and next steps.
Despite these considerations, the method has proven effective for Anthropic, creating what employees describe as an engaging and transparent environment where strategic thinking is both documented and debated extensively before decisions are made.
