Young, Stupid and Overconfident
We
have raised a generation of entrepreneurs and workers who are remarkably out of
touch with what's required to start and run a business. Here's a hint,
snowflakes: it doesn't involve kombucha on tap.
Executive director, Ed
Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, Illinois
Institute of Technology
I honestly try, for substantial periods of time, to remain calm;
to be a good sport and, where necessary, to even bite my tongue as young
entrepreneurs and their often younger employees lecture me in a painfully patronizing
fashion on a multitude of subjects in which they lack expertise, experience
and, most of all, the slightest bit of empathy. These deficiencies do not stand
in their way. They're so sure of themselves and their positions that they don't
have the patience to consider any other views, approaches or opinions. I now
inhabit an upside-down world, where the ignorant are certain and those with
open minds and the willingness to study and learn are unsure of what the future
holds. Often wrong, but never in doubt.
Having built more than a dozen successful startups over five
decades, I've had thousands of employees of every size and shape. And I've had
too many conversations to count where I've told key team members to slow down,
prioritize their efforts, and even to get out of the office for a couple of
days until people can stand to be around them again. I'm not a work-life
balance guy - I think there's no real separation and that, if you're happy at
work, you'll be happy at home and vice-versa. But I do often remind my best
players that there's always more work, and that you've
only got one family and it requires as much attention as anything else you're doing.
Today, I miss those issues. Because I've never encountered such
a wave of entitled "workers" who want to talk about feelings and
philosophy and do anything but work. Interviews these days are like Alice in
Wonderland fantasy sessions where the questions are all about whether your
workplace is right for the new hires. Whether it's a sufficiently warm and
cuddly place for them to make a nice nest for themselves. And don't get me
started on whether your politics and values live up to their grand expectations.
Or if your perks and benefits are on par with the guy down the street and the
ones they've read about in all the tech porn magazines.
And, just to be clear, it's not exclusively their fault. You
don't turn out a generation of arrogant know-nothings like these kids without
substantial effort on the part of their parents and their professors. Aided and
abetted by helicopter moms and dads and teachers afraid to constructively
criticize or confront these tender little darlings, we're foisting these
fraudulent phenoms on unsuspecting employers. The only serious question is, how
long before the game is up? If they were merely incompetent, we might be able
to remedy their deficiencies -- given half a chance. But it's the fact that
they're so insufferably convinced of what they're spouting that's becoming
intolerable.
Of course, their unchecked arrogance is in large part because no
one has yet had the courage and the willingness to tell them that they're both
wrong and way out of line. The "everyone's a winner" philosophy
is manufacturing mediocrity
in our schools at a frightful rate. The idea that there are no indisputable
truths (both basic and universal) and that every idiot gets to decide and
declare the truths that are right for them is hollowing out the very heart of
the rigorous education we'll need more of to compete in the increasingly global
economy. Yet we continue to lose ground. I'm not sure what they're learning in
college these days, but the curriculum sure seems pretty far afield from what's
required to succeed once they get out. In some ways, a random mugger might be a
better mentor than some of the so-called scholars, because at least you'll
remember the mugging and maybe be a little more aware of your location and
circumstances in the future.
These same unfortunate attitudes and entitlements are now
starting to appear, at scale, in the workplace. We call it "work,"
not "fun," for a reason. But apparently this somewhat sobering idea
is an unreasonable expectation, an insensitive posture when you're dealing with
the snowflakes and precious little princes and princesses who are much more
attuned to their own desires and feelings. They're great at articulating their
needs and requirements, but a lot less attentive,
objective and honest about their abilities and qualifications. If it's not working for
them, it's not working and it's not worth whatever modest effort they were
investing. The grass is always greener somewhere else for these folks, who
never comprehend that the people with the greener grass work harder and take
better care of it.
We're doing our kids a grave disservice by spending our time
trying to prepare the path for them instead of urging them to prepare
themselves for the path ahead. When they finally and inevitably wake up (and
grow up) and discover that they're not qualified for much of anything, it's going
to be a most unpleasant and rude awakening. Many of them will boomerang back to
their untouched and painstakingly preserved bedroom/museums to once again squat
amidst the splendor, tokens and trophies of their youth.
Make no mistake, I'm not simply talking about the rich, flawed
fools in Hollywood who paid small fortunes to have their kids fraudulently
admitted to schools they weren't qualified to attend. These parental morons
clearly have more money than brains and we already knew that they had no morals
to begin with. Hollywood has always been high school - just with better-looking
people. I'm more concerned about this year's graduates, who are poised to start
looking for a dream job at an ideal company with a great paycheck and
demonstrable values that the Dalai Lama would love. Cue the annual graduation
speeches and the parade of tired clichés and pious platitudes that we've come
to expect. But the times are different, and our messages should be redirected
as well if they're going to impart any value.
I can't guarantee that the kids will listen (however old they
may be), but that reality doesn't relieve us of the obligation to try to set
them off in the right direction-- as unpopular as some of the old ideas may be.
If you're not willing to make the effort, you're no better than the worst of
them, stuck in the world of
"whatever."
So, if and when you have the chance, here's a few things that
I'd suggest you share.
(1) Tell them what's expected of them and what
sacrifices they'll have to make to meet and/or beat those expectations. The
startup world is a lot more grinding than grateful. The startup world is all
about doing the work. Snowflakes melt when the heat rises.
(2) Tell them the truth about what they have and what
they lack in the way of strengths, skills and smarts -- even if it hurts.
Better that they leave before they start than having them sitting around
sulking because they're under-appreciated and grossly misunderstood.
(3) Thank them for their actual contributions, not
their unending conversations, corrections and criticisms. Talk is still cheap
and doesn't build the business or pay the bills. The way to get things done is
to stop talking and start doing.
(4) And lastly, tell them that you earn the right to
do things your own way only after you've shown that you've learned how to do
things really well the way we asked you to do them. Following the rules and
getting things done takes so much less time than arguing about changing the
rules and doing things your way.
Bottom line: employers have to pay you fairly and regularly, but
they don't have to thank you daily. Sincere gratitude should be earned, not
expected.