Envy

Nov 03, 2020

Envy (Defmacro, 2020-11-02)

Slava is back!

Silicon Valley runs on envy – every major (and not so major) event runs on envy. Anything can be a source of envy: you’ve got funding – I haven’t; your investor is Tier B and mine is a nobody; your valuation is 10x mine.
It’s not a realm of just startups: in VC funds associates envy jr partners; they envy senior partners. Within companies there’s a pecking order of envy, too.
is omnipresent. But some people call it “status” (Alex Danco). Not the same thing, but close enough to talk about status without the stigma of envy.
Envy feels like an abusive relationship, lower your barrier – and then everything adds up to it: press, gossip, exclusive events, etc. Sticking around people who can control envy soothes the wound a bit.
Emotionally strong people avoid the envy signs – they mostly noise, not worth pursuing. Envy is a huge drain on emotions (and the ability to function) and the time (not necessarily office hours).
Conviction is a better choice of trait as working towards a good goal is infinitely more rewarding than chasing shadows (you can never grab one). Overcoming challenges produces the strongest bonds, usually of a respectable nature.
One can still get the status and the recognition – the trick is not actively wanting that. It doesn’t mean not being aspired; it simply means that achieving status for the sake of status is a trait of an empty person. Igniting envy in others is a tool, and it’s hardly a good idea to be someone’s tool.

Many companies are faced with a choice of either closing their doors or cutting innovation budgets (i.e. mostly people). These people, however, are not all from the grey list – some of them are actually very good, it’s just the company can’t afford them.
Logically, these people may still be useful, but in a different capacity – as white-collar gig workers. Sure, it’s not full employment, but read on.

Encourage them to make their startups and the firm becomes their first client. They know the way the company operates, so they can jump through the hoops faster.
Since the company doesn’t tell people what to do, they can suggest a range of problems to solve for the company. (quite sad that they weren’t allowed to do it while in the company)

It’s not a time-and-material project; companies need to treat the initiatives by ex-staff as an investment case.
The team on the company side should be managing, not doing. This is a portfolio game, and nothing is worse than the investor trying to be useful to the invested company to the point of doing said company’s work.