Ego Death Improves Leadership Effectiveness

Owen McCabe's transformation of Intercom into an AI-first company demonstrates that radical business reinvention requires embracing founder-mode leadership and making difficult, unilateral decisions.

When faced with declining growth and an existential threat from AI, McCabe returned to Intercom and implemented dramatic changes. He believed that greatness comes from CEOs willing to make brave, hard decisions and own the results. This meant abandoning the democratic, committee-based approach that had developed at Intercom in favor of more decisive, top-down leadership.

"I decided to take a very authoritarian, top-down, aggressive, founder-first approach to all the things," McCabe explains. This included cutting costs aggressively, focusing the strategy exclusively on customer service, investing heavily in AI, and rewriting company values to create a "sharp knife" that would cut out parts of the company he knew wouldn't be effective.

This leadership approach created significant friction. About 40% of employees ultimately left, and there was even what McCabe describes as a "soft coup" attempt with letters sent to the board. Yet he maintained his course, believing that the right employees for the company's new direction would remain and thrive. The results validated this approach – within 15 months, employee surveys showed 98-99% approval of management, leadership, and the new strategy.

For leaders navigating disruption, McCabe's experience suggests that half-measures don't work when facing existential threats. His advice is uncompromising: "You don't have a choice. AI is gonna disrupt in the most aggressive, violent ways. If you're not in it, you're about to get kicked out of all of it." This means bringing in actual AI talent, empowering young talent who understand the technology, and being willing to work extraordinarily hard to compete with AI-native startups.

For ICs, the implications are equally clear. The most successful organizations in this transition will be those with clear hierarchies and decisive leadership. Team members who thrive will be those who align with the company's focused direction rather than expecting democratic decision-making. As McCabe puts it: "Even if it requires a little bit of a loving push out the door, I know that you're actually doing them a favor in the medium to long run" because people who want a more democratic environment will be happier elsewhere.

McCabe's personal transformation also offers valuable insight. Through therapy, time away from the business, and the humbling experience of failure, he shed the ego-driven insecurities that previously limited his effectiveness. This allowed him to make decisions with greater clarity and authenticity, without being triggered by challenges to his self-image.

The Intercom story demonstrates that surviving disruption often requires more than incremental change – it demands a willingness to reinvent the business entirely, guided by clear, decisive leadership that isn't afraid to make painful choices for long-term success.