Be Thankful You're Still in Business. Be Ready to Get
Through Some Tougher Times Ahead.
Enjoy the holiday, but for entrepreneurs there's rarely a day off and there are big decisions ahead. These five tips can help you make them.
BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS@TULLMAN
As the holiday celebrations approach after another year of mixed
blessings, we're all more likely to be relieved about what we avoided rather
than thankful for what modest blessings we've received. But there's at least
one group I know of who wouldn't trade places or positions with anyone,
notwithstanding all the grief they've been through for the last several years.
Entrepreneurs. They're people who know that they've hung in, that they've hung
tough, and that, while the battle's far from over, they're proud and grateful
that their businesses are still standing. And they're especially thankful for
the people and plans that helped get them through the hardest of times.
Thanksgiving is a fitting holiday to acknowledge and appreciate
the courage, grit, and perseverance of the millions of founders still plugging
away every day, nose-to-the-grindstone, and working to build the future, brick
by brick and bit by bit. The top job can feel solitary and under-appreciated at
times, but while it can be lonely at the top, at least it's not crowded.
There's still a lot to be said for knowing that you have some direct say in
your own destiny, especially when the going gets really rough and the world at
large seems to be conspiring against you. Honestly, as they'll be quick to tell
you, there's no other place these folks would want to be.
Besides, it's not like the grass is much greener elsewhere. The
previous allure and reassuring comfort of a 9-to-5 job at a big business
doesn't look all that appealing, especially when the entire tech sector is
shedding employees at an alarming rate. Those big businesses (other than
Twitter) may be incrementally more stable at the macro level, but the individual
prospects of job security right now at these places actually feels far less
certain. Micro matters most when it's your personal paycheck. Whatever the
company, the people who think that their jobs aren't somewhat at risk are
beyond naïve. We'll all be somewhere on the employment bubble spectrum for at
least the next year.
There's certainly no good time to let people go, but there are
undoubtedly more sensitive, appropriate, and considerate ways to do it than
the midnight unsigned emails and other methods adopted by some of the a-holes
running the big tech companies. Nothing excuses or explains the crass, callous,
and clumsy ways that the Captain Queegs of the tech industry have handled their
downsizing efforts. These guys are masters at taking all of the credit but none
of the blame or responsibility (except in the grandest and emptiest sense) when
things go sideways. Whether you're Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk or one of the
Jeffs doesn't really matter - the only thing that's certain is that the pain of
parting will be felt everywhere but where it actually belongs.
Serious entrepreneurs never got into the startup game in the
first place because they were looking for safety, security, or stability. If
those kinds of objectives are high on your list, you made a seriously wrong
turn somewhere along the way and you were probably destined to come up short
from the beginning. The best entrepreneurs run toward the mess and love the
challenges, uncertainties, and risks that come with blowing up the old and
building the new. In many ways, unlike the fat cat corporate heads and
old school managers, it was the reactive, adaptive, and flexible entrepreneurs
who helped us all through the chaos of COVID-19 and who also thrived in the
process.
Hopefully, the pandemic won't re-emerge (and it's somewhat
reassuring to have sane leaders in charge now), but it's still useful to take a
moment to see what steps and strategies worked best for the survivors, in case
there's a next time.
(1) Keep Your Own Head Up
Leaders can cast light or shadows. Everyone's watching you for
signs and signals and it's critically important that you keep moving forward,
tell your people the unvarnished truth, and explain what's going to be required
of them. The fact that they believe that you'll be right beside them in the
trenches makes all the difference. Hope sells -- and it's contagious.
(2) Communicate Constantly
While most people at Twitter and elsewhere would just as soon
see Elon shut his mouth, any smart CEO has spent a huge amount of time during
the pandemic messaging the team, talking to customers, clients, and investors,
and detailing the path forward as well as the firm's future. Especially in the
new remote and hybrid world, assuming that the "word" gets out efficiently
and effectively is foolish. And remember that nobody likes surprises - get the
right story out there and stay ahead of the noise.
(3) Re-Recruit Your Key Players
Everyone is worried. Don't think for a minute that even the
folks who have been with you for many years aren't just as concerned as the
newbies about the company, and the commitment of the key players to stick
around and stick it out. You need to have direct, one-on-one conversations with
all your key players (some of whom aren't senior managers) to be certain that
everyone you need is on board and ready to re-up for the long haul. Options
that are way underwater and will be for a while aren't gonna convince anyone to
stay. The best people commit to other people-- that's the bond and the glue
you're looking for.
(4) Take Care of the "Me" Issues ASAP
Your people may love their work and even the company, but they
have serious financial concerns and families to worry about, which always come
first. While it's hard to make concrete commitments, the sooner you can address
these selfish and serious concerns, the sooner your people will get back to
paying attention to the business. And don't waste time taking any of this
personally; you'd feel exactly the same way if you were in their shoes.
(5) Make the Hardest Decisions First
It's easy to convince yourself that small, initial, reactive
steps are smart, and that preserving projects or retaining underperforming
lines of business makes sense. But the salami approach -- multiple small cuts
over time in the workforce and elsewhere -- almost never works and usually
raises everyone's uncertainty and stress levels. While Elon is a great example
of overdoing the cuts and undermining surviving employees, it's far more
prudent in most cases to make the deepest cuts necessary to assure the
business's long-term viability and then build back as circumstances permit.
And one final note: don't try to be Superman and do it all
yourself. That's not smart, it's not possible, and it's destructive of
the critical team attitude and approach that is essential to holding things
together.