Don't Turn Your Business Over to the Trolls
If you don't stand up
for your company's values, the vacuum won't go unfilled. Defendant Don has
shown that lies are powerful. Leaders need to speak up or their employees will
do it for them-- right or wrong.
BY HOWARD
TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH
INVESTORS@HOWARDTULLMAN1
Summer TV is the worst.
A three-month mediocre mashup of cheap and embarrassing reality shows, real
estate porn, and an endless collection of reruns that weren't worth watching
the first time around. As we roll into August, there are only two things that
are demonstrably less appealing to contemplate than another month of
fruitlessly smashing your remote searching for something to watch.
First, the fact that the
summer season of eyewash and squalor may never end because of the writers' and
actors' strike. Thank goodness for Netflix's backlog and the few offshore,
non-union productions that are still cranking out new stuff. And second, the
prospect that the 2024 election is highly likely to be a painful, perverse, and
putrid repeat of the last Biden-Trump battle. To paraphrase Jerry Garcia of the
Grateful Dead, it's just incredibly pathetic that
it has to be these two guys. As someone recently said, with all of Defendant
Trump's accumulated legal problems, frauds and lies, and sexual predations, the
only job he probably could get at this point is the Presidency.
Two old men-- one
bitter, crooked, and destructive and the other tired, tongue-tied, and torn in
too many directions by his own stupid party - will duke it out, spend hundreds
of millions of dollars to no good end, and not change a single
voter's mind except maybe for those who are dissuaded from voting by all this
nonsense. Once again, most voters will already know what they believe and who
they're voting for, right or wrong; they're simply looking for reinforcement
and reassurance rather than any kind of enlightenment or education.
As much as I hate creepy
Mike Lindell, I'd rather skip the next 18 months of ugliness to see these two
old codgers in a charity pay-per-view cage match using My Pillows to harmlessly
beat each other up with all the proceeds going to institutions that can save
lives, feed children, and make some actual difference in the world. Instead, we
can expect non-stop noise, negativity and name-calling--mostly from the MAGA morons--
and not much else.
The Democrats still
haven't learned who they're battling and just how low these creatures will go.
Going soft seems to be in vogue everywhere these days - certainly when you look
among Democratic politicians, starting with the president. They all seem afraid to say virtually anything to avoid
offending anyone. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Senate
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, with their old school protocols, stupid
antiquated rules and time-consuming procedures are clueless and aren't up to
the battle. The game today is all about heat, not light, and they're losing
every day. President Biden really needs to get into the fight, or he may
get beat because people today understand passion and energy much better than
facts and figures.
The singly most
frightening aspect of Trump getting back on the debate stage with Biden is that
the Orange Monster's rants, rages, lies and sheer presence will blow Uncle Joe
away. Trump's passion may be fraudulent, his language may be libelous, his tales
may all be lies, but the power and theatricality of his performances and the
overpowering force of his debauched and despicable personality are undeniable.
They connect with millions of confused and unhappy people today who are easily
swayed and looking for guidance and charismatic leadership for
anyone and anywhere they can find it.
Regrettably, Trump and
his clones continue to show the world and demonstrate that screaming, scheming,
and whining often succeeds. Too many people simply no longer care for the warm
and fuzzy pablum the Dems are putting out or believe that good thoughts, calm
competence and good deeds matter. They've been taught that the louder the
lie, the more likely it is to be believed. It's all about confrontation,
conflict, complaints and criticism rather than reason and rapport. Sincerity
and subtlety are remnants of times long past and sadly these are Biden's
strengths.
We live in a media-made
world of fake tough guys like Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov.
Ron DeSantis. The message of their constant threats, claims and belligerence
bleeds through whether you like it or not and infects people who work for you
as well. This rot is contagious and it's also impacting our peers, our
partners and our kids. Far too many entrepreneurs are trying to fight the
onslaught of cynicism, selfishness, and victimhood by bending over backwards to
placate and pacify their employees and offer them things that simply make no
sense for their businesses - all in the name of buying some peace and quiet.
This is a very slippery slope and, unfortunately, all these actions aren't
being interpreted by the younger workers as expressions of care and concern;
they're being seen as signs of weakness and as concessions, which most often
precipitate further demands.
Whether the issue is
"work from home," debates over company policies or positions, comp
questions or dress and pet codes, it's starting to feel like too many of the
loudest and most vocal "inmates" think they should be running the
asylum. Putting aside the governance concerns, and the damage that's always caused
by dragging performance and politics into the workplace,
I think a much bigger question is the risk that the key members of the team --
focused, heads-down, and working their butts off every day - will lose
confidence in senior management, believing that they no longer represent the
aggressive and competitive leaders.
If you look around, the
signs of "softness" are spreading. Who really knew that Scott
Galloway, a New York University marketing professor, prolific pontificator, and
erstwhile celebrity podcaster had a soft and sensitive side and, far more
importantly, who really cares. I'm glad he loved his Mom and loves his kids but
was that the reason that anyone paid attention to his entertaining and usually
enlightening speeches, classes, courses, marketing screeds and profane stock
predictions? I don't think so.
If that's the direction
he's headed in his Pivot podcasts along with Kara Swisher's
constant updates on her family affairs, opening night fetes, and non-stop name
dropping, I'll be pivoting promptly to some new sources for the tech spiels,
scoops, and stick-it-to-ems that were once the duo's stock in trade. Galloway
morphed from a hard-edged and critical corporate analyst to a happy house
husband and pseudo-psychiatrist. He was strong and strident and now he's soft
and squishy. Whatever is driving the new plentiful and painful sharing, it's
just TMI and certainly too much for me.
And it's just another
version of the "bring your whole self to work" delusion that ignores
the abundant evidence that almost no one in charge really cares about your
whole self, all your hurt feelings, your triggers, and your conviction that
you're grossly under-appreciated, under-valued, and unfairly compensated. If
you're unhappy with your job and your life, find something else to do and
somewhere else to work.
If you're watching your
business slowly float away from you and you feel as though you're losing
control of the conversation, now's the time to step in and stem the flow by
saying, "enough is enough." Your people need direction, vision
and leadership and you can't do the job halfway. Make your message simple,
short, and strong. The rules haven't changed: the ones who care the most win.
Don't wait for things to get worse. Be difficult and direct when you need to
be. Tell the truth - stand up for what you believe is right and fair - and tell
your people why it's worth the pain and struggle to do the right things the
right way.
As former British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher famously told President George H.W. Bush in discussing
how the U.S. should respond to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait: "Remember
George, this is no time to go wobbly."