NEW INC. MAGAZINE ARTICLE BY HOWARD TULLMAN

 

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." 

NEW INC. MAGAZINE COLUMN BY HOWARD TULLMAN

 

How to Compete With the Cheats

First, don't be one of them. The fake-it-till-you-make-it crowd is being called to account. That's good, but there are others still willing to cross the line. You need to take them on, smartly, because not all your customers will see value in integrity. 

 

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

 

Unrealistic optimism and boundless passion are critical parts of any good entrepreneur's DNA. If building something new and important from nothing was easy, anyone could do it. And if everyone knew how difficult starting a business was going to be, no one would ever try. Persevering in the face of what appear to be overwhelming odds is also part of the requirements to eventually get to the finish line.

But what it doesn't take is lying to your peers, investors, and customers, as well as to the media. That's crossing a line that no one should ever cross. And whether you acknowledge it to yourself or not, there's a surprisingly bright boundary in almost every case. There's a day or a point in time or an ethical test that presents a clear choice; you don't slip or fall into fraud, it's a straightforward decision. You either consciously plunge forward into the abyss of illegality or you sharply pull back and stay legit.

This is why it's so important for the people who are trying to build real businesses in the right way to call out the cheats and creeps.  To make sure that everyone sees that-- even if we all admit to ourselves just how easy cheating might be -- there's a substantive and real difference between readily available rationalizations to justify illegal acts and actually making that initial bad decision to head down the wrong road. 

But just because you can understand the complexities, temptations, and risks doesn't mean you get to stand quietly by - especially when it's your own business that's being adversely impacted by competitors willing to do and say anything to get the sale. You're the one who has to act, even if it's clearly not easy.

I call this asymmetric competition (or bringing a knife to a gunfight) because one side is always trying to do the right thing and compete fairly while the other side has no limits, no ethics, and no boundaries on how low they're willing to go.

In fact, the Orange Monster and the scum on the other side think that dishonesty is an admirable survival skill and claim, much like Trump bragging about being smart enough to evade any taxes. That cutting corners, shaving points and edges, and using inferior goods and components are all part of a big game where only winning ultimately matters. As Hitler said: "It is not truth that matters, but victory. The victor will never be asked if he told the truth."

Confronting and dealing with competitors who are lying to your customers is a very complicated task. There's a fine line in the customers' minds between complaining and whining and the problem is growing because in the Trump era, where no lie is too big, bold, or unthinkable, the numbers of unscrupulous players are multiplying. It's becoming more and more difficult for buyers to determine who's telling the truth and who isn't. Worse yet, in the startup world, facts and factoids are often confused and concrete "proof" is often hard to come by. Consider that JPMorgan Chase alleges it got hoodwinked by Charlie Javice, the  30-year-old founder of Frank, a fin tech the bank bought for $175 million.  The celebrated "fake it" culture, and the media's glorification of growth at any cost, hasn't helped to clarify the worsening situation although we do seem to finally be turning a corner.  

It's been encouraging to belatedly see the demise of the "fake it 'til you make it" excuse for outright and grievous instances of theft and fraud although the general commentary in the mainstream media stills lags in calling out the harsh realities in many of these cases. It appears that, in addition to simply creating copy, filling space, and dancing around the truth, too many members of the tech press feel obliged to insert a paragraph or two reciting this old Silicon Valley saw, apparently in the name of neutrality, objectivity and even-handedness.    

In truth, spewing this bullshit adds nothing helpful to the conversation. This startup malarky persists even after convincing and broad-ranging criminal convictions. It confuses and confounds the public and prospective investors, misleads other serious and honest entrepreneurs, and frankly continues to provide some shelter and comfort to people who are demonstrably criminal.

We just had another round of criminal convictions in Chicago in the Outcome Health cases and sadly there are still far too many social media comments about how the thieves and villains are nice folks and did so many supportive things for others right up until the time their criminal scams and schemes were disclosed and prosecuted.

There really aren't two sides to these stories. Try telling the firemen that the arsonists aren't really such bad guys -- they just have a thing for matches. This bogus approach closely resembles the oblivious stupidity of the political press in constantly attempting to equitably compare the positions of conscientious and well-intentioned Democratic politicians with the dishonest, manipulative, and extortionate proposals of performative MAGA morons whose sole interests are to delay, disrupt, and interfere with the ongoing governance activities of the Congress and with those of state legislatures as well.

Instead of talking about what's happening in Washington, where one party is creating a potential catastrophe and attempting to hold the country and the economy hostage to their crazy demands, the media talks about the situation as if it were a normal, two-sided conversation among rational actors instead of a circus conducted by performative assholes. These acts are so outside of the norm that the traditionalist and temperate Democrats like Dick Durbin don't even know how to address them. It's hard to pretend that it's business as usual when people you have to call your colleagues are lying to your face and to the public daily, but that's what's going on and the country's much the worse for it.

Startup entrepreneurs face the same problem: trying to honestly compete with liars and criminals in their own marketplaces. You've got to say something, you need to call the customers' and clients' attention to the situation - both for their sake and your own - but it's a difficult conversation to have. It's frankly surprising how often we have to rediscover an old and very basic lesson, which is that customers and clients don't really care even a little bit about your constraints and concerns, even when they clearly should. Even if their businesses could also be at risk.

The pandemic presented case after case of this problem - honest suppliers (especially of food products) incurred enormous additional costs to avoid any risks of passing on virus-contaminated material.  But many were woefully unsupported when they tried to share these costs with customers. They were happy to find lower-cost and less conscientious vendors willing to sell them similar products and who falsely claimed that they had also taken suitable steps and precautions to avoid any problems.

In the end, your customers and clients believe that they hired you to do a job and not much else matters - get the job done, now, and correctly.  They don't want you to waste their time with apologies or excuses. If that's all you've got to try to justify your concerns, you can bet that there's going to be some unhappy times ahead. Let's be clear, though, that an apology isn't an excuse. Honestly, there's no such thing these days as a good excuse. But a thoughtful and solid explanation of the situation is an entirely different thing. The trick is to find the right way and the right time to tell your story.

Here are three key things to keep in mind.

(1)  The context of these kinds of conversations matters at least as much as the content. Find the right time and place and make sure that the customer is willing and able to listen. A congested and busy office isn't the right place. A rushed phone call or having the talk while standing in the hall between meetings won't get the job done. Invest the time to make the conversation personal. Forget Zoom, face-to-face matters.

(2)  In the war on truth that's raging these days, the only certain way to lose is to be passive. Honesty is difficult and sometimes painful at first, but it's the only way to develop a long-term relationship based on trust, which is the ultimate key to success. A sincere effort is all anyone can ask. If you tell the truth, the truth becomes part of your past. If you lie, the lie becomes part of your future. The truth only hurts when it ought to.

(3)  Focus on a few important facts and stick to your story. It's more important to repeat the critical and personal concerns than to try to cover everything. Our minds process meaning before details. Passion and energy are more compelling and effective than a particularized parade of horribles. Take your time and be patient. Don't lose your place or your temper. If you're angry, people will focus on your anger and not on the facts that matter.

The objective in these conversations isn't to sell, convince, or share your burdens; it's to demonstrate why it's in the customers' own best interests to look carefully at the alternatives and the risks they face before they make the wrong choice.