Back to Run Rate

Podcast Episode

Why the Most Productive People Never Do Everything Themselves

Run Rate··14 May 2026·1h 11m

About this episode

Jonathan Swanson built two companies — Thumbtack and Athena — and has spent his career studying the one principle that separates people who scale from people who stay stuck: delegation. In this episode he breaks down why the most productive people in history never did everything themselves, the future of AI and human assistants, and what the greatest delegators all had in common. Plus the RunRate Rapid Fire including whether we're in an AI bubble, the most overrated productivity tool, and the one thing Jonathan would never delegate. 🎙️ RunRate — Finance for the Front Office, by the Front Office. New episodes every other Thursday. Stay Connected: Web: runratepod.com IG: ⁠  / runratepod  ⁠ TikTok: ⁠  / runratepodcast  ⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/runratepod⁠