Why We
Should Still Count on Algebra
This unloved branch of mathematics has been under fire for being
too difficult to learn and not quite useful enough for business. But for
entrepreneurs, algebra can solve a lot of questions.
BY HOWARD
TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH
INVESTORS@TULLMAN
I'm not exactly sure how it was that algebra became the whipping
boy and the gold standard, universally accepted example of the kind of painful,
obtuse and never-to-be-used-again high school subjects that we all suffered
through. But it did. You can't have any conversation about the unproductive
aspects of anyone's early education without someone citing algebra as the nadir
of their K-12 experience. Algebra always leads the list of material that the
world believes no one will ever need again. And it's not just the
suffering students who complain. Plenty of grown-up educators also think
that it's an unnecessary hurdle for
too many high schoolers.
I find that plenty of young entrepreneurs (even the geekiest
ones) are also quick to jump on this particular beatdown bandwagon. They don't
realize that the best entrepreneurs use the forms and mechanics of algebraic
calculations almost every day in their work and - perhaps subconsciously -
incorporate it into their analysis and decision-making. They just don't
necessarily know it or call it by name. But when you think about startup math,
every launch is a prayer that 2+2 will at least equal 5x, and hopefully, 10x.
Remember that a little number times a big number equals a big number.
People talk all the time about whether you can learn to be an
entrepreneur or whether it's an innate ability. The jury may still be out on
the "nature versus nurture" question, but there's no doubt that it
helps to have mastered math and solved a few zillion equations if you want to
handle the mental gymnastics and juggling act that's at the heart of daily life
in a startup. We can't teach you to choose the entrepreneurial life, but we can
definitely give you some of the critical tools you'll need to have a better
shot at success if you do.
Everything in building a successful business is about two
things: choices and triage. You have to decide what has to be done, and done
immediately, and what can wait for tomorrow -- or needs to be discarded
entirely. Entrepreneurs are aggressive editors and every day's a
different crisis of conscience and conviction. You're confronting and solving
an endless series of calculations which require constant revision and perpetual
evaluation of the relative importance of various factors, components, and
criteria, as well as continually reprioritizing the order in which problems
will be addressed. And you're doing it on the fly and in the moment. That's all
algebra.00:1000:49
The pandemic and its aftermath have already triggered serious
changes in the "math" of tradeoffs, trade outs and other compromises
in various industries, organizations, and professions and these calculations
will continue for years. Think of squeezing a balloon -- as one portion shrinks
under the pressure, the remainder expands to accommodate the demands of the air
inside. Something always has to give.
That's evident in one of the most disgusting aspects of the
administration's calculated strategy in addressing the Trump virus -- benign
neglect. Amid the sotto voce discussions of herd immunity,
none of the GOP politicos really wanted to acknowledge that Trump's inhumane
and sleazy hacks were going to kill as many older and infirm people as they
could get away with in order to "get the country back to business."
Whatever lives were saved by their inability to pull off this grotesque
"solution" was entirely due to their incompetence - no more and no
less - and not in the slightest attributable to any concern for anyone's life
other than their own. So, we dodged that bullet, and yet still suffered a
world-leading 317,000-plus deaths to date. And there are plenty more
bullets to come.
Think of the impending and essential redesigns and revisions in
every office building and hotel in the world where, instead of concerns such as
aesthetics, amenities, athletic facilities, etc., everything takes a back seat
to HVAC issues, assuring user safety and security, and extensive access/egress
controls. These changes need to be made within constrained and reduced budgets,
with limited personnel, and in ridiculously short timeframes.
But they will also provide amazing opportunities and substantial challenges for
innovators and entrepreneurs who are up to the task. In the final analysis, it
all comes down to the numbers and the dollars and cents. Whatever business you
happen to be in will require similar determinations. The facts and
circumstances change, but the basics remain the same.
One handy and helpful guide to keep in mind comes from how the
U.S. trains its fighter pilots for dogfights, where the only constant is
that everything changes every second. Pilots are entrepreneurs in the air and
quickly learn the four step OODA loop: Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. It's an
iterative and circular process of constant recalibration that only ends on the
ground -- one way or another. It's you or the other guy, and it's no different
in the startup world.
The best startups try to realistically measure everything. You
can't manage what you don't measure. You measure, react, adapt and constantly
change to get better, or you die. You are what your numbers say you are -- no
more and no less-- and no excuses. Success is always a numbers game and
it's all about the algebra.
DEC 22, 2020
