It’s people’s business

I hear so often that tech/investing/statups is all “people’s business“. Yet more than I’d like to, I experienced behaviors that questioned my faith in human face of the unicorn land.

Tech, like probably every other professional game, is tough, demanding and pushes us to our limits. Not always we feel like smiling to a stranger and being talkative in events.

From my experience in at least 90% cases, if we think that people are

• arrogant,

• into themselves,

• not good listeners,

• assholes

they are actually are:

• shy,

• stressed,

• neurodiverse,

• just tired.

But for the remaining “10%” there is sometimes more going on.

When the Game Eats the Soul

The pros — the real players — often do incredible work. But they also sometimes lose the human plot.

Relationships become transactional. When every meeting and conversation is measured for ROI, the social environment can start to feel very cold and dry — even intimidating. Not really authentic or, well, interesting.

This is high-stakes work. It’s intense. And it can take a toll of cumulated stress, anxiety, sometimes lasting emotional scars. When egos swell and jealousy festers we lose the compass.

When Technocracy Kills Culture

But even tough such cases are minority, they still influence the overall atmosphere, culture if you will. If one ego obsessed blogger keep explaining working mothers that without putting 100h their business won’t succeed, it matters. It erodes the conversations, expectations, attitudes. Technocratic, one dimensional, shallow thinking, shrinks abstract, deeper reflection, spirituality, the kind of intellectual curiosity that makes a person truly interesting.

We are all getting slowly allergic to “tech bros“ because we see what arrogance combined with ignorance does to public debate, politics, etc.

Stay human

Staying human is important not only in times of AI, it always was and always will be. Luckily it is also not that hard. We are all the same ridiculous and marvelous beasts of flesh and bones, with personal histories, health issues, family situations, passions, talents, beliefs, dreams.

The other person always:

• knows something that I don’t,

• is better in at least one thing than I am,

• could say or do something that could change my life.

If I remind myself that, I simply enjoy all the calls, meetings and events more. And hopefully I’m a little bit more enjoyable for others as well.