can we please stop claiming that arrogance is a prerequisite for startup founders?

This week, more than a few people have sent me a link to BusinessWeek's current cover story, the title of which attempts to claim that tech arrogance is a good thing.

Friends, can we please call this what it is? Complete and utter nonsense, if you're building a company that seeks to have a sustaining impact. It's also, as the BW article points out, a front - mostly surface-level showmanship and fear of vulnerability.

This was top of mind for me this morning, after my colleague and Head of our Professional Services team sent the following note to our team of Implementation Coaches and Coordinators:

Dear Team,

I was reflecting on my time spend in schools over the past week. It was a privilege to be invited to join the opening session of school at Washington High School yesterday. As I listened to the hopes that the visionary principal shared with her teachers, some their first day and one teacher who is in his last year before retiring, I was taken back to so many "first days of school" I have had in the past.

As a former administrator, I know how hard it is to make the decisions about how to spend this precious professional development time. I just want to thank all of our partners who are trusting us with this time. Enjoy it with your new friends - our clients - and make it a great day! I am humbled by this opportunity.

Building a company is all about the privilege of serving customers, about being vulnerable and humble enough to openly admit that we may not always "know best," about listening to and learning from our customers as they learn from us - as partners, and equals.


P.S. Was also reading Venture For America CEO Andrew Yang's article about learning to embrace failure around the time of this post. This quote resonated as the antidote to the "arrogance is good" movement by addressing the very real behind-the-scenes mental health issues that founders face:

Within the entrepreneurial path, there is a culture of "faking it till you make it." You pump your company up and say "everything is up and to the right" whenever someone asks. Meanwhile, you're stressed out and wondering how to take the next step. There has recently been a growing acknowledgment of mental health issues being very much part of the entrepreneurship culture in part because, even in the world of startups, people are afraid to fail in an excruciatingly public manner.