If the Shoe Fits: Silicon Valley Groupthink, Should and You
by Miki SaxonA Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here
On one of the last days of 2015 I read a great article about the groupthink that pervades Silicon Valley these days.
It reminded me of how teens of every generation display their rebellion against society through their choice of clothes, while simultaneously making sure they “fit in” with their peers.
This is most easily seen in a subgroup like the goths, whose black clothing and makeup sets them apart from other teens, but within which a rigid dress code prevails.
Unlike the Silicon Valley I knew in the 1980s and 90s, today’s Silicon Valley is far more homogenized and undiversified, with little perspective on the “real” world.
The result is that it’s far less creative and exciting than it once was.
Silicon Valley groupthink is also the force behind what Danielle Morrill, CEO & Cofounder of Mattermark, calls the “tyranny of should.”
But sometimes when I am able to quiet that story down, I catch myself listening because it is just so much easier to have someone else figure out what I should do.
In the first days of this new year I urge you to choose between taking the easy road of groupthink and should or following Sam Altman’s path of most resistance.
“You should ignore what your peers are doing or what your peers or parents think is cool. (…) And that’s the hardest part. We’re all so much more susceptible to that than we think.”
Yes, another ‘should’, but not all ‘shoulds’ are created equal.
As always, it’s your choice.
That’s both life’s greatest joy and its greatest fear.
Image credit: HikingArtist
