Tuesday, June 06, 2023

NEW INC. MAGAZINE COLUMN FROM HOWARD TULLMAN

 

Why Your Business Needs to Fight Against Apathy

The political environment is so bleak that there's a temptation for many people to avoid any kind of engagement. Don't do that to your team. They need your leadership to restore a sense of optimism that helped this nation thrive. 

 

BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS@TULLMAN

 

Is it just me or are we all suffering a kind of lethargic stasis and persistent apathy that are another long-term effect of the utter helplessness and lack of control so many of us felt throughout the pandemic. Then, we watched millions of Americans suffer and die and millions more lose their livelihoods in large part due to the ignorance, indifference, and gross incompetence of one narcissistic man - the Orange Monster.

To make things even worse, we believed that there was absolutely nothing we, as citizens, voters, parents, and workers, could do about the situation. This is an unfortunate and frustrating lesson, and a feeling of civic powerlessness that will linger for years. I’m afraid that, in addition to making it even tougher to get our people and the country back on track, our collective lethargy doesn’t bode well at all for the 2024 elections.

As I look around, I’m continually struck by the lack of energy and enthusiasm for just about anything in hundreds of our younger people, thousands of our team members, and in those dreamers, entrepreneurs, and business builders who used to be breaking down our doors seeking support, introductions, and, of course, funding. It feels like the whole world is painfully tentative, hesitant to move forward, still stuck in the “wait and see” mode. It’s the very people that we need to wake up, smell the coffee, and get back to building new businesses who seem to have thrown in the towel.

 And their belief, confidence and commitment in our institutions and to the concept that our political leaders can find a positive path forward seems weaker and more fractured than ever. Millions are simply turning their backs on politics-- a plague on both your houses-- and this attitude and defeatist withdrawal can’t be good news for President Biden in 2024 as the rational and caring people leave the battlefield to the MAGAts who now wholly dominate the primary election process and the media attention.  

 As Yogi Berra purportedly said, it’s déjà vu all over again and the prospects and the possible outcomes couldn’t be more unappealing or a greater threat to our democracy. It’s getting harder and harder every day to console and motivate our people and to comfort and excite them about a future that looks bleaker all the time. It’s almost impossible to convincingly pitch a vision in which you yourself don’t believe. And, if you can’t sell your team a vision and show them a path to get there, you can be assured that they won’t stick around for long. 

We’re facing an insane and highly risky election season, where the lower courts and law enforcement won’t be able to prevent the expected and continually encouraged election interference and vote suppression. There’s also the prospect of several additional years of spectating as Trump and his lawyers make a further shambles of what’s left of our legal system. And that, of course, assumes that he loses.

 An entire generation of college graduates about to enter the workforce as well as millions of our current employees are being shown how completely unequipped our governance, legal and regulatory systems are to deal effectively with business frauds, crooked politicians and common criminals who pay absolutely no attention to the traditional values of integrity and decency Americans have believed in, or to the basic assumptions of good faith and honesty that are the fundamental predicates of our democracy.

 Worse yet for all of us, the net and numbing effect of this forbidding and forlorn vision of the future is to convince these folks -- our peers, partners, team members, friends, and families -- that there’s basically nothing to be done. So, they settle for scraps and “gigs” instead of starting startups or building the future and they sit sadly, stew silently, and just wait for things to happen. This perceived lack of control-- the absence of any sense of agency -- is a serious threat to our businesses, our economy and to our political system.

 I fear that President Biden and the Democrats have no idea  how to re-invigorate the voters, overcome the apathy and indifference that will keep millions from even bothering to vote, or to effectively oppose all the widespread and already ongoing MAGA vote suppression activities.

 But, in our own enterprises, there are five small and effective steps which we can take to at least do our part to get our teams back on track.

 (1)   Give Your People Good Reasons to Get Back in the Office

There’s no way to win the battle for your team’s hearts and minds when they’re sitting at home somewhere and staring mindlessly at a screen all day.

 (2)   Give Your Teams Important Short-Term Projects with Simple Goals

Think of yourself as a coach with a team coming back to practice after a really rotten season and you get the idea. You’ve got to start slowly rebuilding your team’s confidence and you do this best by creating opportunities for quick, solid wins for them. You want to put them back in control of their own destinies.

 (3)   Celebrate Your Wins and Share the Stories of Your Successes

Success is absolutely contagious. Telling your people and the world at large war stories about great wins is something that never gets old, but it’s easy to forget to do it regularly and aggressively. Your customers can help in this process by talking about how important your support and partnership with them has been - especially during the toughest of times. Taking any of this stuff for granted is a great way to lose.

 (4)   Let Everyone Know That They’re Not Alone

Family time is great, but it’s still lonely at home when you’re talking about work. Everyone needs community, connections, and challenges and the workplace used to supply a tremendous amount of information, support and even gossip - all of which helped to build and sustain company culture. Replicating collisions and conversations online is challenging, but I’ve seen companies having Friday end-of-week Zoom beer blasts without a single thing on the agenda other than touching base with buddies and bosses you might not otherwise have a chance to chat with for weeks on end.

(5) Make Sure They Know They’re Making a Difference

Another important confidence builder is regular reminders that the work your people are doing is important to a lot of others who are depending on them to come through-- customers, clients, partners, vendors-- and it wouldn’t be getting done and done well without their talents and efforts.

Bottom line: no one is going to do the heavy lifting for you and it’s not going to happen all by itself, but if you get to it and make the effort, your business will have a brighter and more certain future.