By Lucas Anderson, Associate Producer at PitchBook
Founders are like superheroes. We love learning of their unlikely origin stories, their strange habits, and their super secrets that give them the strength and bravery to make the tough choices. Their companies stand against the rest of the corporate world as near-perfect machines of economic and social capital creation. (PitchBook Founder John Gabbert has a bottomless stomach…how’s that for a super power?)
But despite how super-human our leaders may seem, many startups still have a not-so-secret weakness: vulnerability, and a culture of being truly compassionate towards others and oneself.
I know, it kind of sounds like the opposite of a super power, and is a bit of an Achilles heel for a predominately young and male league of heroes. But in the era of virtual reality and artificial intelligence startups, and in the month of mental health awareness, there’s no better time than now to make work a little more human.
Y Combinator Co-Founder Paul Graham’s recent essay, titled “Life is Short,” talks about pursuing the things that matter most in life and trying to avoid “bullshit.” In it, he prescribes — in true startup fashion — a lean approach to living, cutting out “…pointless disputes, bureaucracy, posturing, dealing with other people’s mistakes…” to make way for only the most important things.
We all experience the bullshit he’s describing…
“Is this really the best use of my time?”
But maybe it can’t be avoided. Perhaps for Graham, the quintessential startup Superman, but for the rest of us, probably not.
Though that may be a good thing.
Bullshit is trying to understand a viewpoint you disagree with. It’s being empathetic when it’s easier to just say “that sucks” and go on with your day. It’s being open with your boss about your depression instead of having to take another sick day.
Or it can be as simple as asking, “Are you OK?”
No doubt, these are hard conversations to have in an office. But when we go to work in sneakers and hoodies, code on couches, and have meetings on swing sets, the environment has become a pretty comfortable place to have uncomfortable conversations.
Not only that, it’s ultimately good for business:
Hiding our vulnerabilities is a waste of time and money.
Google spent a lot of both to prove it. Taking the time to establish cultural norms that support being open and nurture vulnerability actually helps prevent all the BS, instead of having to run away from it. There’s a lower chance of being misunderstood, or having a voice go unheard…and then having to have a meeting about it later.
“…we must know that we can be free enough, sometimes, to share the things that scare us without fear of recriminations. We must be able to talk about what is messy or sad, to have hard conversations with colleagues who are driving us crazy.”
Employee satisfaction is more than just having a good time.
We have a mantra here at PitchBook: “Make it fun.” And boy do we. Startup culture has fostered the work hard, play hard mentality to near absurdity, and for the most part, it has been an effective way to make employees happier while at work. Alone, however, it’s a thin — though often quite colorful — veneer. Having an open office layout, and an open bar is easy; having an open mind and an open heart in the office has yet to be disrupted. We can change that. We can make it supportive. Make it resilient. Make it vulnerable.
As PG said, life is short. And for us mortals, our kryptonite — despite its power — wont kill us, it will only make us stronger.
