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New INC Magazine blog post by Kaplan Institute Executive Director Howard Tullman

Who Do You Trust?

We're willing to allow strangers to drive our children, to sleep in our spare rooms, and sell us--even sight unseen-- products from all over the world. In a society now completely lacking in it, trust has become a defining characteristic for business. Where does your company stand?

By Howard Tullman

Executive Director, Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, Illinois Institute of Technology @tullman

If you had to pick the largest single change in the day-to-day social and psychological beliefs and behaviors that we adults exhibit (never mind the kids) because of specific changes brought about by digital and social tools and technologies, what would you choose?

Would you say that it was the advent of the “gig” economy? The fact that millions of people now have a completely different, and in most cases, we are sadly learning, a far less satisfactory relationship to the work they find and do every day. They live fragmented and piecemeal lives in every way.  They lack the comfort, security and predictability of those old, staid, stable and often boring jobs - and most would say that they’d gladly return to them if only those jobs still existed. But, as the Boss says in My Hometown: “Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain’t coming back,” which translates to more and more “freelancers” (more than 50% of U.S. workers by 2020) whose employment choices are far from free. It reminds me of one of the best Kris Kristofferson lines ever from Me and Bobby McGee: “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” I’d put the gig scam along with all the functionally-indentured freelancers in the top 5 of the biggest changes, but not at the head of the list.

Maybe you’re taken by the explosive growth of the “sharing” economy even if - most of the time - it’s really a one-way street that has little or nothing to do with true sharing. This is just a slightly nicer way of saying “I’m selling you something”. When I first started talking about these questions, I called this type of transactional model the “surplus economy,” not the sharing economy. Because what we were seeing was the development, in many industry sectors and marketplaces, of low- or no-cost aggregation platforms that permit consumers to sell or trade - not share - their excess capacity. This capacity can be space, expertise, talent, labor, a car or a whatever. The platform connects them to a wide and broadly distributed audience without the need to incur the traditional marketing and sales costs associated with reaching those “customers” in order to market their spare or incremental services and resources. As far as I could see, this type of activity had very little to do with sharing as it was commonly understood, but the name has persisted.

Communes are actually about sharing certain resources and “barter” more properly describes the exchange between peers of various services and benefits; the car share (and bike and scooter) services that we can’t seem to live without today - especially Uber and Lyft -- don’t actually share much of anything. They just take our money, “share” as little as humanly possible with the poor suckers who are driving day and night to make ends meet, and pretend that they’re not killing the fluid flow of traffic in every major city in the world.  At least Airbnb can make a slightly better argument that you’re “sharing” that extra empty bedroom for a fee with some stranger you don’t know from Adam.

And, of course, it’s the very idea of not knowing your boarder “from Adam” that’s the best answer to my question. Because, as Billy Joel is fond of saying: “it’s always been a matter of trust.” The very nature of new technologies and tech-enabled services and solutions is that they are often abruptly presented to us (others sneak up on us more incrementally like AI-enabled services) and we slowly move along a fairly consistent path that starts with resistance to any change (inertia) and initial distrust and then moves to a level of experimentation and grudging acceptance, and ultimately there is serious adoption, regular reliance and actual psychological dependence. For better or worse. And, if we’re honest, we’d all admit that we’re just a little bit afraid of being so dependent on these technologies and knowing, at the same time, that we can’t entirely control them.

If you don’t think you’re constantly caught somewhere in this vicious and virtuous cycle, try losing your phone for a few hours or having your internet connection go down for an evening and see how quickly the fear sets in and the withdrawal symptoms begin. Some of these interactions are even more invasive; they go from being a job or an obligation - a duty, if you will - to an integral part of our days and something we look forward to and desire. On Amazon, reordering the dog food is a job, but scoping out the flash sales and time-sensitive offers is all about greed and desire. But I digress.

The biggest, boldest, and at once the most pervasive and inexplicable change in our lives in the last decade has been the emergence of the “trust economy.” We not only let strangers sleep in our bedrooms, we put our kids in cars with drivers whose training and credentials are mostly a mystery - whose principal qualification is showing up on time. And we buy goods and services from sellers worldwide without a moment’s hesitation. Why? Because we trust the technology and the system. We trust the “reviews,” which we think are objective evaluations from the crowd.  But, when you think about it, the “plumbing” and infrastructure aside, both the gig economy and the sharing economy couldn’t and wouldn’t exist without the development of the trust economy. Trust is fundamental to the way the web works.

But there’s a real problem. The cruel irony and the disconnect is that at the very same time that the trust economy continues to expand, our trust in each other - in the people we deal with daily - is plummeting.  We trust the rideshare guys more by far (over twice as much) as we trust our neighbors. I’m not just talking about lying politicians and crooked government employees. I’m talking about our friends, neighbors and co-workers. The surveys are consistent and depressing and they don’t lie. The results really suck, and they’re all headed in the wrong direction. Today only 31% of us think that most people can be trusted.

Is there anything any of us can do to stem the tide of distrust? Is there anything encouraging in the latest findings? Well, as it happens, consumers these days actually do believe in the business community. Not necessarily in the old guys (brands are dying left and right because they didn’t live up to their promises), but we love the new kids in town (Facebook excepted, perhaps) and we see the possibility that they might get it right.

There’s a reason that Amazon’s become the most trusted brand in America for anyone not named Trump. Jeff delivers. Actions and results matter if you’re trying to restore people’s confidence and their belief that it’s even possible to get really big without getting bad. The lesson is very clear. It’s up to us to make it real - to spend less time and money on marketing and manipulation and social media - and much more on taking care of our customers and taking care of business.

Being trusted is a lot harder to accomplish than being loved.

 

Kaplan Executive Director Howard Tullman Starts Options Trading Lessons with Tom Sosnoff

WATCH THE FULL SHOW HERE:  https://ontt.tv/2IdyE8p

We've done several "Where Do I Start?" shows on tastytrade before, but never quite like this!

Howard Tullman is a successful author, entrepreneur, founder of more than a dozen tech companies and more. In this series with Tom Sosnoff, he hopes to add "retail investor" to his resume.

Unlike some of our other trading newbies, Howard is a bit older with a bit more capital and, subsequently, has a different set of objectives.

Tune in as him and Tom lay the foundation for this series including their objectives, the outlook for the show and even some homework on Howard's first day.

Kaplan Institute Executive Director Howard Tullman Appears on Tasty Trade - Bootstrapping in America

                                  WATCH THE SHOW:




On the heels of a new venture at Illinois Institute of Technology, Howard Tullman jumps into the tastytrade studio to discuss this project as well as his new show at tastytrade. On top of learning how to build a core portfolio, Howard also has time to give some advice to the recent graduates out there as well as some observations of the entrepreneurial world that he thinks will help anyone in the workforce. Howard Tullman, former CEO of renowned startup hub, “1871” and visionary, lecturer, educator, writer, art collector, brings his unique view of the business world to the tastytrade audience.

Kaplan Institute Exec Director Howard Tullman Gives IIT Commencement Keynote Address

3 Great Pieces of Advice in a 7-Minute Commencement Speech

In May and June, at schools across the country, we become peroration nation. Our speaker distills it all.

By Howard TullmanExecutive director, Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, Illinois Institute of Technology

I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak with you on this glorious day.  As the former President of two Colleges, I deeply understand exactly how important a rite of passage this is for each of you (and for your family and loved ones as well) and I’m honored to be a small part of this very special occasion.

Many of you are the first in your families to attend and graduate from college and, as the eldest of 6 children and a lifetime entrepreneur, I know in my heart just how hard it is to be the first at any new enterprise. To take that leap and that gamble. To put yourself out there with no net and no turning back. To leave the comfort and security of the way things have always been done and to believe instead that you – and you alone – can make things different and better. For yourself, and for those close to you, but also for many who will follow in your footsteps and hope that you will take a moment and look back to lend them a helping hand just as so many people made it possible for you to be here and to reach this exalted station.  Friends, family, mentors, faculty, sponsors, supporters, and a host of others as well. No one does anything important today all by themselves.

And, of course, that’s why you’re never really alone. You’re surrounded and bolstered by friends and family who are the most critical supporters. We’re all fortunate to have them in our corners, but ultimately, we know that no one else can do the heavy lifting for you. You carry not only all the weight of your own dreams, desires and fears, but also the aggregated expectations of friends, family and even the members of your community in many ways.

And you have the additional responsibility of dealing with the naysayers. The ones who know what’s best for you even as they sit squarely and safely on the sidelines. And the ones who are happy to tell you in great detail what’s above you, or beyond you, or too big for your britches (whatever those are), or forever out of your reach. And finally, the ones who take great joy in pointing out all the reasons why things won’t work – even though they’ve never had the courage to try. They can find a million problems for any solution.

But, to build a better world, we have to keep moving forward and we can no longer afford to be afraid to fail – we can all expect to fail from time to time – that’s just part of the game, but – the key to the future is that we can never be afraid to try. Scrapes, scratches and skinned knees are all part of the process. Being brave means working to find things that are more important than your fears. You learn to focus your time and your energies on your desires (and the things that need to be changed) and not on your fears. Your faith – especially, but not exclusively, in yourself - needs to be stronger than your fears. And one day – not too distant from now – all those doubters will be bragging that they knew you when.

          Today you and your grand achievements are the very best answer and testimony to all those doubters and a convincing demonstration as well of exactly what each of us can achieve if we set our hearts and minds to it. We never know how much weight we can carry until we try or what burdens we can bear until we are really tested. And this day you showed us all. You met the tests and the challenges and you overcame them to reach this special moment.

Finally, I want to assure you that the investment you’ve made in your education is a wise one. Education today may be costly, but ignorance is far more expensive. A great education changes the way you look at the world – mostly in a good way – and the rigor, the arguments, the grit and the perseverance that it takes to excel have prepared you, have distinguished you, and will set you apart as you enter the working world and in whatever you choose to do with your lives. This is a special privilege and a sacred trust and your most important responsibility as well as your first job will be to choose wisely.

You’ve gained powerful new skills – these are not to be wasted – not to be withheld for fear of failing - and, most importantly, not to be frittered away. Every one of you is better than that – you shouldn’t settle for anything less. Your careers will be very different from ours – not a linear path or a single employer – you’ll move as you choose from job to job – gathering experiences – gaining additional skills – learning from good and bad role models – and ever-expanding outward as you grow toward what makes your life most complete.

And, as you move forward on the journey, please keep one thing firmly in mind. There’s always a best seat in the house – a best row at the show – and, while you may not always get it – shame on you if you don’t go for it. It pays to aim high.

The world is full of new and different opportunities everywhere you look. The rate of change in your lives will never be slower than it is right now – so hang on to something solid - and be prepared for the ride of your life. Entrepreneurs learn early on that – just like in racing – the world doesn’t wait for you. The future isn’t something that you wait and hope for – it’s something that you grab hold of and make your own. You don’t get what you wish for, you get what you work for.

Now I want to leave you with 3 more quick rules.

(1)     Focus is Everything. You can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything. Do a few important things in your life very well. The future will be all about difficult choices and constant triage. Too many opportunities and too little time. And be honest. Commit wholly to your choices. Don’t say “maybe” when you mean “no”. And remember that the hardest choices are those we make with our hearts, not our heads.

(2)     There is No Finish Line. We all need to be lifelong learners if we want to make a difference and a contribution. Your education just started here. Iteration – constantly examining, adjusting and improving every part of your lives – is the way that we will all remain competitive, valuable and relevant in the global economy. It’s easy to say. But it’s a hard way to live. We get better by getting just a little bit better each and every day.

(3)     There’s Always More Work. Work is like rabbits. If you let it, it can multiply to fill all the hours in the day. This is called Parkinson’s Law. And it’s easy – especially when you’re starting out – to confuse your work with who you are. But it’s not your identity – it’s just what you do. And, even more importantly, while there’s always more work, you only have one family and it’s critical, but not easy, to remember to make time and room for them in your soon-to-be very busy life. Creating, supporting and nurturing your family will always be your most important work. 

So that’s my story. My hopes for you are simple.  I want the rest of your life to be the best of your life.

We often act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we really need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic and proud about.

I’ve been lucky enough for many years to go to work each day surrounded by excited, energetic and enthusiastic people who are setting out to change the world in important ways.

My fondest hope for each of you is that you can find a similar path, a similar place and similar challenges. There’s no better way to spend your days.

          So now it’s up to you – go forth – go always forward – and go make us and your parents proud. God bless each and every one of you.

May 12, 2018

Kaplan Institute Exec Director Howard Tullman Speaks to WiSTEM Cohort