There’s enough career and how-to-be-successful advice to fill a stadium. It goes back decades; some is out of date in a digital world, but the best stuff isn’t.
The lesson: Go in with big eyes, big ears, and most importantly don’t be a jerk.
You can be the most talented and skilled at your job, but if people don’t like you, your success will be limited.
He recently gave it to a colleague and it’s just as relevant now as it was then.
It’s also one of the true pearls of wisdom that, if we are paying attention, we each collect in the course of our lives.
The best advice, such as this, is so simple it can be offered in less than two minutes and understood almost instantly. (Click the link for a detailed explanation.)
But practicing it seems to be the biggest obstacle for a lot of people.
Watch, listen, don’t be a jerk.
Make it your mantra; the thought that guides your words and actions;
surround yourself with like-minded people; and
avoid those who scoff and do the opposite, especially in the workplace.
I have been traveling this week visiting clients to advance a few opportunities I am working on. One thing that came up throughout the meetings was the need for authenticity.
It seems to be the result of too many salespeople doing a quick transaction and leaving the customer high and dry after. I was struck by their need. Not so much because I haven’t heard it, but that it is coming up in almost all of my conversations.
As a salesperson, I am always looking for ways to provide value to a client and become their trusted advisor. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t happen overnight, but with some effort and true insight it can be achieved.
We as humans have a responsibility to others to put forth our best, be trustworthy and learn to work together as a team. It was my client, however, who showed me that partnership is what matters most.
It made me think about how does one achieve that partnership?
A lot of it is listening and having the business acumen that can fully understand and address complex issues. Some of it is time spent with someone. Some of it is personality.
Being an authentic human being goes a long way in my book and always putting others needs ahead of your own. Being humble and appreciative will pay off huge dividends.
Beyond sales, how else can we be authentic?
Perhaps it’s taking ownership over a project. Asking for mentorship. Seeking out new people to learn from. Etc.
What do you do to build partnerships and become authentic?
For instance, 50% of founders are making less than $6 an hour.
After raising $15 million Evans company reached a million in revenue the first year and tripled that each of the next three, but when Evans wasn’t interested in raising another $20 million he was fired.
Our investors are great guys and were doing their job. But that job is to maximize the returns for their investors. Homan Yuen in his VC Math post clearly shows why VCs are almost exclusively focused on unicorns (or those rare $1B+ exits). For them to generate an acceptable financial return, they typically require 2 to 3 of them per fund. “Small” $50 million or $100 million dollar exits do little for keeping their investors happy.
What those “small” companies do do is drive the economy and create jobs, obviously a goal of little-to-no interest to VCs and those who invest in their funds — despite their talk to the contrary.
Even an IPO isn’t a guarantee for enormous founder wealth, as shown in the recent SendGrid IPO.
On the other hand, two of the three cofounders no longer own as much as 5% of the company: Tim Jenkins, and Jose Lopez. Both are still listed on the company’s website as engineers who work there. The biggest winner in this IPO among the three cofounders is Isaac Saldana. He still owns 4% of the company and, at $18, his stake is worth $33 million.
Not that $33 million is anything to sneeze at, but Foundry Group was the big winner walking away with $171 million.
It’s interesting to note that SendGrid seems to have put as much effort into its culture, via its four pillars, known as the four H’s: honest, hungry, humble and happy, as its growth.
“We’re so ridiculously over the top with it, it would absolutely scare you away. If these things didn’t resonate with you, you wouldn’t come to SendGrid because you’re like, ‘OK, these guys are like a cult with those four values. That’s not for me, I’m out,” CEO Sameer Dholakia said.
“I’ve been in software and high-tech for 22 years. I know a lot of absurdly talented professionals who would hate SendGrid. It would literally be their seventh Hell because there is nothing humble about them,” he said. “And that’s OK. They’re absurdly talented and in other cultures they can thrive where it’s a star-centered culture. Great! But they would hate us.”
Any one of those values, let alone all of them together, seem to be in short supply at most of the recently headlined unicorns.
And contrary to many in the startup world, values do scale if the focus goes all the way to the top. This is how you do it, according to Sameer Dholakia, SendGrid CEO
Keep values simple so employees will remember.
Make them distinctive to attract people who support them. Not everyone will or should fit.
Be conscious of behaviors that impact the values and reinforce them.
The second is where most founders fail, because they aren’t willing to walk away from stars, AKA brilliant jerks.
Of course, many founders are members in good standing of the brilliant jerks club, but SendGrid is proof that you neither have to hire them nor be one.
Some of you may know that I work in software sales. I enjoy the work along with the highs and lows that come with it. Something else that comes with the territory is money.
I have found money brings out the truth in people. When you have enough money where the opinion of others is not important, the true colors shine. Sometimes the result is great, other times not so much.
I had an opportunity this week to spend some time with some successful sales people who are climbing the mountain of corporate success and doing well. I was able to observe the behavior of a few different folks and see their true colors.
In one case there was a guy who has risen up the ranks and I was actually looking to him as an example of what to do. I was utterly disappointed. His main drive was money, sure that’s fine, but there was nothing more. In fact, I am unclear of what he cared about other than that. His only other hobby appeared to be drinking. I don’t mean that to sound negative; he is a connoisseur of fine wines and spirits.
I met another guy who grew on me. I met him three days ago and my first interaction was him asking me for a favor. During that moment though he was honest with why he needed it; I was in a position to help and it got him out of a jam.
As we spoke through the next few days I realized this guy had substance. He was rising up, but not there yet. He was humble, truthful and eager to learn. In addition, he handled the first guy I mentioned with grace. In this case the first guy was this person’s boss.
Throughout this journey I asked myself, “when is enough enough?” The first guy just wanted more and more money. The second writes screenplays, enjoys hiking and tries to give back.
In both cases you can never have enough. There is not enough money, but also not enough hikes, to find fulfillment.
Perhaps there is never enough.
Perhaps all that matters is what you are filling up that hole with.
It’s amazing to me, but looking back over more than a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies are a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time.
Attitude. That illusive quality with the giant impact. It’s the ‘A’ in MAP — mindset, attitude, philosophy — and a large part of the reason you land the job or ‘the one’.
Have you ever wondered what the perfect attitude is? Not just a top dog or the person out front, but for any entrepreneur who aspires to succeed and, for that matter, every person who lives and breathes.
I recognize it when I see it, know when I’m doing it, and can explain it when I’m coaching, but I’ve never seen it so perfectly boiled down to ten short words—all self-explanatory, nothing to look-up or study or requiring training.
I found those words in a friend’s description of how his daughter lives.
Like 3 year olds, be passionate, humble, impatient, grateful…daily.
Do it and change your life—and your world—guaranteed!
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read allIf the Shoe Fits posts here.
I get so tired of people being labeled “self-made,” whether by the media, their circle or themselves.
There is no such thing.
I can hear your thoughts across the miles. “Who is she to say there’s no such thing as self-made. Just because she didn’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t.”
I agree, I’m nobody, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is a well-known somebody and he says the same thing.
I always tell people that you can call me anything that you want. You can call me Arnold. You can call me Schwarzenegger. You can call me ‘the Austrian Oak.’ You can call me Schwarzy. You can call me Arnie. But don’t ever, ever call me the self‑made man.
It took a lot of help. None of us can make it alone. None of us. (…) And I have to say that it is important to acknowledge that, because people make it always sound that you did all this yourself.
I didn’t. I did it with a lot of help.
Yes, I was determined. Yes, I never listened to the naysayers. Yes, I had a great vision. Yes, I had the fire in the belly and all of those things, but I didn’t do it without the help.
Here’s the full video in case you think I made it up.
Now stand in front of the mirror and say three times, “I am not self-made.” Repeat twice daily until you believe it.
Many of the actions of people such as Travis Kalanick, Donald Trump, Parker Conrad, etc., are deplored, yet they seem to have no effect on people’s opinions.
They go their merry way while thousands of far superior leaders are ignored.
When the subject does come up the usual response involves the infamous “yes, but…”
Why is that?
I finally found an answer that makes sense from Margarita Mayo, a Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at IE Business School in Madrid.
Mayo terms the first type of leader ‘humble’ and the second ‘charismatic’.
Humble leaders improve the performance of a company in the long run because they create more collaborative environments. They have a balanced view of themselves – both their virtues and shortcomings – and a strong appreciation of others’ strengths and contributions, while being open to new ideas and feedback. (…)
[Charismatic leaders], despite their grandiose view of themselves, low empathy, dominant orientation toward others, and strong sense of entitlement, their charisma proves irresistible. Followers of superheroes are enthralled by their showmanship: through their sheer magnetism, narcissistic leaders transform their environments into a competitive game in which their followers also become more self-centered, giving rise to organizational narcissism, as one study shows.
Mayo’s research and the other’s she cites (with links) provide proof of the value produced by the humble leader vs. their charismatic counterpart.
However, I think there is another problem happening in the background that is word-related.
Ask most people if they want to be remembered as ‘humble’ or ‘charismatic’ and most will choose charismatic.
Warren Buffet aside, ‘humble’ is more often associated with dorky, weak, shy, and unassuming.
Not adjectives most people would choose to describe themselves.
Thanks to Wally Bock for leading me to this article.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
Have you ever wondered what the perfect attitude is? Not just a top dog or the person out front, but for any entrepreneur who aspires to succeed and, for that matter, every person who lives and breathes.
