The President-elect and
the mayor of Chicago are great examples of how not to behave at critical
moments. Entrepreneurs, take note.
EXPERT OPINION BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V
AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS @HOWARDTULLMAN1
JAN 2, 2025
In the generous spirit of the
holidays, I’ve concluded that no one in government is completely worthless –
even the chaotic, disappointing, and destructive reign of Chicago’s current
mayor offers some modest learning opportunities for us mortals. As the saying
goes, if you can’t be a good example, at least you can be a horrible warning,
and Mayor Brandon Johnson is doing an excellent job of showing the world what a
professional government official should never do.
Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely
that his behavior is going to change any time soon. So, the chaos of
present-day Chicago will continue.
Hizzoner blithely lies regularly to
the press and to the public about when and what he knew about crooks and other
bad actors in his administration – typically right after they’re outed and
discreetly shown the door. His stories about how much he knew about the
behavior of Ronnie Reese, his disgraced and departed communications director,
are just the latest examples.
Chicago’s finances will always be
dependent on the largesse of the state of Illinois and so he says that he and
his people are working closely with the folks down in Springfield, the capital.
The folks in Springfield, on the other hand, report that they barely speak to
him and his team about anything material and haven’t since he was elected over
a year ago.
He is still technically on leave from
but also on the ledgers of the Chicago Teachers Union (accruing time in
service, the actuarial benefits of salary increases, and bumps in his expected
CTU pension) while he bigfoots the Chicago Pubic Schools board. He has also
tried to rush through an expensive contract for union bosses, and claims to be
above the fray.
The list goes on.
But I think that Johnson has some
value for entrepreneurs who regularly find themselves in water over their heads
and for anyone else who’s concerned about what’s going to happen when Donald
Trump regains the Oval Office.
Whatever you think of the mayor’s
travesties, they’re just a preview of what’s coming down the pike. Think of
Trump as a supersize version of everything that Johnson represents. Our mayor
may have been a mediocre teacher for the few minutes that he tried that
“career,” but he seems intent on his administration following in Trump’s
footsteps.
The circus starts, of course, with
language. Brandon is a master of arranging fancy words that sound important but
mean nothing. He’s trying to bluff his way through questions and, when anyone
questions his comments or challenges his conclusions, he deploys the race card
and sulks off the stage.
Trump’s approach is actually less
about big words and BS and more about bullying and bravado. Trying to parse any
lengthy truth from Trump – even after the media sanewashes his material – is a
fruitless gesture. Every one of his all-cap pronouncements is its own word
salad.
Both mopes foment hate, and they
thrive on its adrenaline, which they foster and enflame every day. They spend
their time not building, but blaming; it’s always someone else’s fault.
Everyone is after them and out to get them for whatever the current reason or
excuse of the day may be.
They are the embodiments of the fake-it-‘til-you-make-it sickness that still
infects the tech world.
The lesson for someone struggling, as
every new business-builder does from time to time, to keep up with the constant
flow of concerns or to cope with unforeseen obstacles, uncertainty, and
complexity isn’t to point fingers, offer phony excuses, spew venom and threats,
or make up stories that no one believes. It’s to slow down, hunker down, learn
from your mistakes, focus on a few critical concerns, and shut your mouth until
you have something relevant and truthful to say. As Thumper’s mom cautioned the
little guy: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
The second failing that these
gentlemen share is a reluctance to do the work required to lead, no sense of
humor or curiosity, and a lack of interest in education, preparation, analysis,
or research. Not surprisingly, in both of their cases, it’s of considerable
value to know what you’re talking about and what you’re doing. They are
seat-of-the-pants and spur-of-the-moment cowboys who will say anything to get
through the day and disparage the efforts of the people who actually know what
the facts are and, more important, what the alternatives and consequences of
various choices and decisions may be.
Worse, these two may be the world’s
worst listeners, although they love the sound of their own voices and those of
the sycophants who shield them from reality. Actions are rarely based on advice
and analysis; everything is reactive. Trump, in particular, can’t go for a
moment without attempting to grab the spotlight, stir the pot, and dominate the
news cycle with whatever confused thought, threat, or lie might enter his head.
They’re both in a hurry to go nowhere fast. They never sweat the small stuff or
focus on the details and consequences of their actions – as every entrepreneur
incessantly does.
Because they don’t do their homework,
they don’t build effective teams or support organizations, and they don’t
listen to anyone who’s not telling them exactly what they want to hear.
Entrepreneurs appreciate and
understand the need for speed and quick reactions, but their mindset and
thought processes are entirely different from the ready-fire-aim methodology of
the culture war crusaders in Chicago and Washington. The best business-builders
I know – contrary to the media mythology – are careful, analytical to a fault,
and far more conservative than you’d imagine, because they focus as much on the
downside risks of any new actions to their people and to their businesses as
they do on the upside opportunities. They take intelligent risks, but never
randomly gamble – especially with the lives and livelihoods of others.
Trump and Brandon are more than happy
to burn down the buildings and blow up the lives of millions. They’re all about
optics – dressing up in racing suits and gilding everything with fake gold.
This is why Trump has bankrupted practically every business he’s ever touched
and why Brandon is well on his way to torching the central business district of
Chicago in his fevered quest to serve his progressive masters.
