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NEW INC. MAGAZINE COLUMN BY HOWARD TULLMAN

 

We Need to Put a Charge into Congress

Without a national network of charging stations, the U.S. risks falling behind in the EV race. The consequences would be severe. But our elected representatives would rather bicker than improve our infrastructure. 

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

If you're too young to remember the great videotape format competition between Sony's Betamax and JVC's VHS, which drove the film industry crazy, then consider the ongoing mobile operating system wars between Apple's iOS and the Android system. In the private technology sector, early format wars and incompatible systems are par for the course initially, and then eventually resolve down to one or two major players given the "winners take all" nature of the software business. The user pressure for simplicity, consistency and standardization combined with the financial advantages that unitary solutions and economies of scale offer make these concentrations (not to say oligopolies or monopolies) virtually inevitable.  

Interestingly enough, it's only in rare cases that the early entrants and first movers in new tech arenas survive and thrive in the end. As often as not, the pioneers are folded into later entering, better funded, and more astute players.  That's why there are no more IBM laptops. The key to the fast followers' knowledge advantage, of course, is that they have the benefit of seeing and learning from the mistakes of those who went before and plowed the path but stumbled mightily along the way. It's a shame that our elected and appointed representatives can't seem to ever do the same.

In between the start and conclusion of each such disruptive technology cycle, billions of dollars of venture capital funding are wasted supporting the dreams, fantasies, and ultimately futile efforts of the wanna-bees and the also-rans. But dumping tons of dollars down multiple ratholes in search of the one or two winners (the power law) is not only expected today, it's encouraged and taken for granted. Venture capital is a lot like vitamins -- 80% of it is regularly pissed away. But the same approach almost never works in government. It's generally all wasted time and money with a lot of downsides.

This "shoot for the moon" venture approach is fine for the private sector, since they're spending OPM anyway. But wasting billions of our tax dollars and - worse yet - delaying and frustrating the critical development of new technology systems, shouldn't be the model for our government or the performative clowns in Congress. And yes, I realize that this may be frighteningly naïve as we watch these morons become more venal, hypocritical, and embarrassing every day.  Nor does it help that they're forever in the pockets of the various corporations and industry lobbyists who oppose virtually any major change on behalf of whoever's lining their pockets at the moment.

What little hope I have for any kind of productive and rational action by our government representatives in the particular and increasingly important area of increased adoption and utilization of electric vehicles comes from two converging considerations: (a) the inescapable and remarkable advantage responsible regulators have to employ the same kind of foresight fast followers in the private sector regularly benefit from and (b) the indisputable fact, although that idea itself seems oxymoronic today, that creating, promulgating, and ultimately regulating matters of national concern such as interstate travel and commerce at the federal level is one of the clearest and most obvious responsibilities of Congress.

Putting aside the recent proclamations of backward morons like Florida Senator Rick Scott who would like to abolish the entire federal regulatory structure in virtually every area, it's clear that only Congress can regulate the infrastructure for electric vehicles. That includes the manufacture, installation and deployment of both the on-board vehicle connections and the rapid charging stations needed nationally if we are seriously committed to encouraging the growth of the critical EV industry.

Leaving this responsibility up to the individual states to develop confusing, inconsistent, and often flawed solutions on their own will cost the country countless billions, waste years in the futile process, and dramatically set back the acquisition and use of EVs by millions of consumers. We have a chance to get ahead of this fast-moving wave and we have the luxury of knowing that it's coming and how to deal with it, but we'll only avoid the typical and traditional government delays, enormous costs, and false starts if we begin immediately to demand action from our congressmen and senators.  The only way to get ahead is to get started now.

We need a universally accessible, standardized and federally-mandated national network of high-speed charging stations deployed at reasonable intervals throughout the U.S. - probably starting right alongside the interstate highway system - which will accept the charging cords from any vehicle, and we need it as soon as possible. President Biden's infrastructure bill was going to provide for 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles, but the devil (apart from funding) is still in the details of compatibility and locations.

Reliable, well distributed, and carefully positioned charging stations are essential to addressing drivers' issues around range anxiety as will the comforting knowledge of knowing just what to expect when you get there in terms of assured, standard connectivity. It's the same kind of comfort that made McDonald's such a success, there was nothing more reassuring than seeing the Golden Arches looming large next to the highway ahead - the food wasn't great or special, but it was reliably the same everywhere - clean, fast, and filling.

At the same time, EV makers wishing to sell their vehicles here would also be required to adopt a standardized interface and compatible system that would work with the new charging stations. GM says it expects to be 100% EV by 2035 and Ford recently said that 50% of its vehicles will be electric by 2030, but it would be insane to let these obviously competitive efforts move forward without ongoing direction from the Department of Transportation with regard to required standardization of the various mechanical and software interfaces so that any available charging station would suffice.

Sadly, as with so many other day-to-day real-world concerns like health care and gasoline prices, our representatives in Washington don't really appreciate how important cleaner and more cost-effective transportation solutions are becoming and how falling prices are making EVs more affordable. The average adult driver in America drives about 14,000 miles a year. D.C. drivers average only 7,000 miles a year and also have one of the country's best public transportation systems -- not that anyone in Congress uses it. These are people who get chauffeured around.

Advancing national vehicle electrification with its obvious impacts on critical climate issues is simply too important and too pressing a concern to be left to whims, prejudices, and vagaries of the cretins in Congress. We need a continued, aggressive and consistent effort by the media and the public to press and push our representatives to get out of their own way, stop their infantile posturing and squabbling, and move these very critical programs forward before we squander another crucial opportunity and leave our country far worse off in the future.

APR 5, 2022

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

 

 

 

Howard Tullman Speaks at World Marketing Summit

 

Thank you @tullman for joining @kotl Philip Kotler electronic World Marketing Summit 2021.

Howard Tullman is Serial Entrepreneur, USA and discussed about Critical Drivers of Consumer/Customer Behavior in the Post-Pandemic World. #wms #kotlerimpact #philipkotler #lod #ewms

New Article on Newbies in Loop North News by Howard Tullman

 

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Let the newbies know the truth Too many youngsters are entering the workforce with delusions of their own grandeur. It is vitally important that they’re checked into reality before you hire them. By Howard Tullman 3-Apr-22 – New employees need a simple, straightforward, cohesive, and consistent introduction to your business, your company’s culture, and your work philosophy if they’re going to be successful – especially if they’re going to be mostly remote. Simple doesn’t mean dumb in this case, but it does mean short and sweet. Straightforward means telling it like it is and letting the chips fall where they may. You’re much better off filtering out newbies with attitude and entitlement problems at the outset – and maybe even losing a few prospects in the process – rather than inviting fundamentally unhappy and chronically dissatisfied folks into your shop. Cohesive and consistent means that, in this painful age of constant management contortions – as business owners try to please everyone, be politically correct, and ensure that everyone’s opinions matter and that they all get a vote on everything – your public pronouncements and positions actually do have to align with and be supported by the day-to-day rules and ways you run the business. Having personally hired hundreds of employees over several decades, I’ve never seen such an influx of confused and deluded young people looking for a workplace that simply doesn’t exist. Sadly, they’ve been primed and “woke” in academic bubbles that have set utterly unrealistic expectations. They’ve been overwhelmed with media imagery and fantasy articles about work-life balance and doing just what you love; they’ve been inundated with social media junk and the fake lives and lies of influencers; they’ve been told repeatedly that they’re now in “the driver’s seat” in terms of employment negotiations and smothered by all the other online noise and clutter that sucks up far too great a portion of their lives. There’s no escaping this stuff and any entrepreneur who’s looking to hire these kids has to try to help straighten them out so that they actually know what they’re signing up for and, if it’s not right for them, they can do everyone the favor of bailing out and going elsewhere. These aren’t likely to be quick or easy conversations, but they’re essential for any business that’s hoping to find the right talent and the right fit for them and, at the same time, grow quickly. Getting hiring right – right at the start – is the name of the whole game. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with a constantly revolving door and treading water. “Having personally hired hundreds of employees over several decades, I’ve never seen such an influx of confused and deluded young people looking for a workplace that simply doesn’t exist.” There are many different messages and approaches that might work in situations like this, but I’ve found five ideas, attitudes, and thoughts that consistently appear in the most successful conversations. There’s no magic to the syntax – whatever words work best for you will get the job done. 1 You have to commit fully to the work and put your whole self into everything you do – and do it with a vengeance. Don’t come to work merely to do a decent job; there’s no room these days for “whatever” or adolescent indifference. Work matters. There are no easy jobs; there are only graceful ways of performing difficult ones. Be proud of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. No wobbling and no white lies. Don’t say “maybe” when you want and need to say “no.” Don’t try to do things cheaply that you shouldn’t do at all. If you’re constantly hedging your bets, then even on your best days, your results will still be mediocre. Band-Aids and duct tape solutions are the worst bets you can make. If you can’t do it well, do something else. 2 Everything today is about time, which is our scarcest and most precious resource. You can’t afford to dawdle because speed is what sets the best players apart. You never get back the time you waste in not making a fast and final decision. Especially in times of radical and rapid change, the faster you decide, the more likely the chances that your choices will be successful. In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. Any decision is better than no decision. 3 No one is irreplaceable, but the best and most successful people are invaluable because they’re the ones others turn to when there’s a problem. The people you can always count on to be there and help – the ones you tend to run to, not away from, in a crisis. You want to be someone’s first stop when they need help, and not their last resort. This isn’t something that happens automatically or overnight – it’s something you build, nurture, and demonstrate throughout your career. You make your passion and enthusiasm apparent, you’re always available and up for the next challenge, you do your homework and put in the necessary time and effort, and you don’t quit. When the chips are down and the fat’s in the fire, you want to be the one who people can count on. 4 Learn to let things go. Not everything can be fixed, finished, or saved. Sometimes you don’t even get to understand everything. Some things aren’t problems to be solved, they’re situations that we need to learn to live with. Mistakes happen to everyone unless they’re sleeping. The trick is not to dwell on them. Fix them, learn from them, make the best of them that you can, and move on. Don’t be a prisoner of the past. The best athletes have “in game amnesia.” They forget their past flops, the missed shots, and the officials’ bad calls so they can focus 100 percent on the present and make their next shots count. 5 It’s okay to fail sometimes as long as you gave it your best, asked for help when you needed it, didn’t try to hide the problem, and ultimately owned the whole mess. But it’s never okay to quit in the middle and leave people in the lurch. We want to give people permission to fail without accepting that those failures are warranted, unavoidable, or inevitable. Tell them to save their breath and give any alibis, sad stories, and painful explanations to someone else. There’s no such thing in the real world as a good excuse. The bottom line is pretty simple. You can’t build a real business without a solid foundation based in truth. Telling people only what they want to hear or half-truths about what life in your business is really like isn’t doing anyone a favor. Lies mortgage your firm’s future while the truth will set you up for long term success. Howard Tullman is General Managing Partner for G2T3V, LLC – Investors in Disruptive Innovators, and for Chicago High Tech Investors, LLC. He is also the author of You Can’t Win a Race With Your Mouth: And 299 Other Expert Tips from a Lifelong Entrepreneur. • Contact Howard Tullman at h@g2t3v.com

ANOTHER FILTHY LIE BY TRUMP AND HIS SCUM BITES THE DUST

 

NEW COLUMN BY HOWARD TULLMAN IN CHICAGO STAR

 

I wrote recently about the need for parents heading back to the office to honestly explain to their kids why they work. I said avoid blaming it on the need to make money in favor of more meaningful reasons, such as trying to make a difference in our own and in others’ lives.

There’s another conversation we need to have with our kids as they return to the real world. They will be inundated with peer pressure after soaking in all the social media junk, the fake lives and lies of influencers, and all the other noise and clutter online.

It’s natural to want to prepare the path and prevent or protect your kids from what they will face. But if you can’t prepare the path, you can at least try to prepare your kids for the journey.

There are many resources, experts and opinions about what to do and say in this regard. My advice comes from my own particular experience and expertise—decades of hiring thousands of new employees and seeing what attitudes, mindsets and mental tools helped them succeed. My own daughters, of course, would never admit father knows best, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Tell your kids three very important things.

1. You love them unconditionally and always will. Eventually they’ll learn that you make your own luck and fortune in life, but it helps a lot to feel loved in the meantime. Having your folks have your back is the best way to start. Friends come and go, but your family is always there for you.

2.  It’s OK to fail sometimes as long as you gave it your best, but it’s not OK to quit in the middle. Giving them permission to fail without accepting those failures as warranted or inevitable is critical. Save the alibis, explanations and blame for someone else. There’s no such thing in the real world as a good excuse.

3. Learn to let things go. Not everything can be fixed, finished or saved. Mistakes happen to everyone. The trick is not to dwell on them. Fix them, learn from them, make the best of them that you can, and move on. The best athletes have “in game amnesia”— they forget the past flops, missed shots and bad calls so they can focus 100% on the present and make the next shot count.

(Follow Howard on Facebook, Twitter @tullman , Instagram and LinkedIn)