I really like the post that Seth Godin wrote on his blog today called: The four elements of entrepreneurship.
He defines entrepreneurs through their actions and behaviors. In his view, this is what they do:
1. They make decisions.
2. They invest in activities and assets that aren’t a sure thing.
3. They persuade others to support a mission with a non-guaranteed outcome.
4. This one is the most amorphous, the most difficult to pin down and thus the juiciest: They embrace (instead of run from) the work of doing things that might not work.
As far as I can tell, that’s it. Everything else you can hire.
He then goes on to say:
All four of these elements are unnatural to most folks. Particularly if you were good at school, you’re not good at this. No right answers, no multiple choice, no findable bounds.
Perhaps this is why many VCs seem to favor young founders. They’re not old enough to think they know what will work and what will not work.
Some of the most successful people I have ever met in business are also some of the funniest people I have ever met. This, of course, isn’t universally true. But I don’t think it’s pure coincidence. These are people you want to be around and do business with.
There’s lots of research out there to suggest that humor is an incredible way to build relationships and strengthen workplace cultures. Joel Stein recently penned an article about this at Stanford Business called Humor Is Serious Business. Naturally the article itself is also funny. Here is an excerpt:
“The reason humor works as a bridge (just go with it) is that laughter sparks the release of oxytocin, a hormone that facilitates social bonding, increases trust, and quickens self-disclosure. This is key in a workplace since all the other ways to release oxytocin are no longer permitted by Human Resources. In a 2015 study, psychologists Alan Gray, Brian Parkinson, and Robin Dunbar had participants watch either a funny or neutral video clip before engaging in a self-disclosure exercise with a stranger: People who watched the funny clip revealed 30% more personal information relative to those who watched the neutral clip.”
The article goes on to talk about how humor at the negotiating table can lead to increased concessions and how, if you’re in a senior position and you make fun of yourself, people tend to assume you’re highly confident in your abilities. It also humanizes you.
One of the interesting things about this topic is that, according to research by Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker and lecturer Naomi Bagdonas, most of us fall off a “humor cliff” when we enter the workforce. That’s roughly the moment where we start laughing less and finding stuff less funny.
We shouldn’t let that happen and I’m going to make a concerted effort. Not just because of business, but because laughter is good for you.
“Contentment used to be a virtue. Now it’s a vice.”
I came across this line on Brad Feld’s blog.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Brad, he is a successful entrepreneur and early stage VC investor. He cofounded the Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, Intensity Ventures and Techstars, and sold his first company back in 1993.
But Brad has also struggled with depression over the years and so you’ll find that a number of his blog posts are also quite contemplative.
This particular post – where the above line comes from – is about a societal norm that I am sure many of you can relate to. I know I can. Here’s another snippet from the post:
“We talked for a few minutes about the overall, dominant American culture of achievement. The endless striving. The need to feel busy, important, and successful. The deep cultural norms around ambition.”
Whether it’s because we’re all deeply insecure or because we just need to fulfill our egos, this has become our modus operandi. It has become all about “the hustle” and about “crushing it 24/7.”
Just this evening I was at a friend’s birthday party and I couldn’t tell you how many times I said “busy.”
“Hey Brandon, how are things?”
“Busy!”
This is an absolutely terrible response. I know that. And I’ve started introducing other responses into my small talk repertoire. But busy is so ingrained in our culture. Being busy makes us feel important. It means we are in demand. We do things. We create value.
But is the reverse – not being busy – now a vice?
Regardless of your position on the appropriate balance between contentment (being ok with what you’ve got) and work (striving for more than what you’ve got), I think the first line of this post is an incredibly poignant commentary on the life that many of us live today.