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.