Our
national discord has reached every household and office. To keep your team
focused, you need to bring them together to share non-political community
events.
EXPERT OPINION BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V
AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS @HOWARDTULLMAN1
APR 29, 2025
Let’s be honest. Do you
know anyone who isn’t angry right now?
It almost doesn’t matter
what you’re angry about or which side of any given debate you or members of
your team happen to be on. The bottom line is that everyone is pissed for some
reason – right or wrong, rock solid or completely irrational. Rampant
emotions have crept into our homes and workplaces, and the stress, distractions
and noise are getting in the way of everything else.
There’s zero likelihood
that the constant lies, invented conflicts, outrageous and illegal acts, and
insulting provocations emanating from the White House will diminish any time
soon. Nor can we expect that the media will develop any ability to resist the
knee-jerk tendency to constantly take the Trump bait, amplify and feed the
falsehoods and imagined grievances to the MAGAts, or have the courage to
overtly challenge the lies he spews every time he opens his mouth.
Apart from the
Associated Press, we’re at the mercy of meek, intimidated, media both-siders
who refuse to jeopardize their precious press room access. Instead, they ignore
the lies, suffer the outright rudeness and abuse, and have become complicit in
“facilitating” the flood of falsehoods being fed to the public.
Why businesses need to
step up.
So, as pathetic as it
may be (per Jerry Garcia), it’s ultimately been left to us to respond. We’ve
got to figure out some effective outlets and exercises to redirect our own and
others’ outrage and let some of the steamy sturm und drang out
of the pot before the whole thing blows up our businesses.
If there’s anything
worse than the anger itself, it’s got to be the profound feeling of impotence
and the perceived inability to help make things better, which only leads to
varying degrees of modest depression. Depression is anger without enthusiasm.
This isn’t to say that
watching the Orange Monster slowly destroy our democracy isn’t something to get
massively upset about, but talk, rhetoric and ranting are as cheap as they’ve
always been. Sitting in front of a screen and typing little screeds, slams and
insults isn’t worth the time and effort and offers little or nothing in the way
of relief or satisfaction. It’s no more effective than talking back to the
radio or TV. I know this from long and personal experience.
The real question for
business owners and operators is what can we constructively and concretely do
for ourselves, our families, our companies and our employees to channel the
angst and anger into something of value? How can we help our team members get beyond
the moment and get on with the day-to-day struggles that we’re all facing in a
world still reeling from the residual effects of the pandemic and now made
immeasurably worse by Trump’s craziness — just look at the tariff chaos — and
Elon Musk’s malicious and destructive meddling.
No one’s gonna get over
the damage that the MAGAts have done to our country any time soon, but we do
need some strategies to help everyone get on with their lives and get back to
taking care of business. Four years is far too long to wait for relief.
Why action is the better
than reaction
The only antidote for
the oppressive feelings of anger, frustration, and eventually apathy, is
turning distraction into action. And while the pundits are increasingly calling
for widespread protests, financial boycotts, meetings and marches, these are one-offs
at best, and mainly amount to preaching to the choir. And a somewhat aging
choir at that.
These latest gatherings
haven’t included significant numbers of minorities or young people. While there
may be some political power or theoretical influence in sheer numbers, these
occasional efforts don’t do much to help offset the growing numbness, apathy
and despair that we’re seeing in our own people. Friko’s song Get Numb to It! could be an anthem for the younger
generations.
The most effective
efforts that I’ve seen are straightforward and relatively simple and
inexpensive attempts to bring teams together to undertake local, apolitical
actions. These efforts serve two critical purposes.
The benefits of shared
experiences
First, and somewhat
selfishly from the companies’ standpoint, in these post-pandemic times where
large portions of the workforce are now working remotely, it’s a legitimate
reason, a good cause, and a great excuse to bring everyone back to a common
site for shared experiences.
Second, given that some
much work today is comprised of sterile and solitary activities sitting in
front of a screen, the opportunity to socially engage as a group in hands-on,
collaborative, and demonstrably physical work is a powerful release, a positive
emotional benefit, a way to demonstrate concrete results and progress in an
environment where so many feel powerless, and a way of making important
contributions to the community as well.
Anyone can make their
own list of these kinds of projects. A few that come to mind, especially
following examples from Earth Day, include: cleaning up a road, painting a
school, planting a park, staffing a food pantry, or visiting with seniors or
veterans.
Gather your team, get
them geared up and out in the field together, make sure they’re well fed with
junk food and pizza, and watch the magic happen. You’ll see smiles and bright
eyes that have been missing for years and a level of connection and camaraderie
that you may have thought was never likely to return.
These are good deeds,
important work, serious contributions to the common, and provide direct
psychological and emotional benefits for your people and your business as well.
Keep bitching nationally if you like, but pitch in and make a difference
locally as well.
These may seem like
modest and inconsequential steps, but the point is not the specific results of
the action, it’s the fact that you’re putting your people to work and in action
that makes the difference. You can’t know or foresee what ultimately may come
from these projects, but it’s clear that, if you do nothing, there won’t be any
impact at all.
