The Reality Is That I Don't Have the Skillset To Be Successful In
the Greatest Wealth Creation Engine In the History Of Mankind
I listened to a really great podcast the other day and three topics really jumped
out at me. The first was particularly relevant because I think it describes a
peculiar/niche aspect of myself and it's the first time I've ever "heard it
said that way", and it's comforting that I'm not the only one:
"The reality is that I don't have the skillset to be successful in the greatest wealth
creation engine in the history of mankind, and that's the US Corporation. They're
incredible platforms, but I'm not emotionally secure enough to work in a large
corporation where other people have power over me .. I could just never handle
that. I didn't have the self-awareness, so I started companies."
The speaker was Scott Galloway. He was sort of reflecting on his overall experience
in working in American business structure/culture.
In his book, The Algebra of Happiness, he fills in
a little more detail:
Few mention the skills needed to be a good employee. I possess almost none of them. The
truth about 90 percent of entrepreneurs is that we start companies not because
we're so skilled, but because we don't have the skills to be an effective employee."
"Because I'm usually the guy in charge, people have romanticized my candor as vision and
leadership. However, this mix of anger, honesty, and feedback wouldn't fly in an employee,
since there's a difference between being right and being effective."
"Working for other people means living in the unknown. You often find yourself
unable to interpret verbal or nonverbal cues, or your review, for that matter."
On his fellow employees since his latest company was acquired:
I don't know if they're scared of me, have no idea what to do with me, or just don't give a damn.
His
book is really good. It's a very easy read, covers a broad range of topics, and
has a number of truths succinctly put, like
"Who you marry is meaningful, who you have kids with is profound."
It's particularly relevant to people working in Internet startup culture. Here's a good one on
motivational/inspirational speeches:
They want to sound inspirational and give you a sound bite, because the truth that success
requires sixty- to eighty-hour weeks for several decades doesn't get applause in graduation
speeches.
