Thinkcorps

Well, last week I got screwed.

Several months ago, I presented a project to someone (I’ll call them A*hole), a project I’d sketched out in fair detail over the course of a year or so of evolution. We discussed it in detail, I expressed my wish to get the project up however possible and my need for help toward that end. A*hole was in a position to make introductions. There’s a subsequent big hole of time in the story that I was, of course, not privy to, and then lo and behold, my (albeit modified) project appears with big partner, staff, all apparently orchestrated through A*hole.

If you want to be a pessimistic f*ckwad, then yes, an idea is worth maybe $50, and no ideas are really that original anymore. This is true. But it is also true that successful business is based on trust and relationships. There is much business to be done, today and tomorrow, so burning bridges and screwing people is generally frowned upon.

So, given all the caveats, I would say that the screwing falls somewhere between complete theft and summarily writing off any contribution I, as a party not only interested but knowledgeable in this topic/area, could have added.

This kind of thing happens in business all the time, so I shouldn’t be surprised, except that it happened to me, and no one expects bad things to happen to them. Seriously, how could you get through a day expecting doom to walk around the corner any minute and smack you in the face? I did trust A*hole, having had a working relationship with the person. What else can you do? You can’t discuss something without using specific nouns, verbs, adjectives. You’re going to give something away at some point. And no, I don’t use non-disclosure agreements, because I don’t have a lawyer and the money to sue, and without the threat of lawsuit, non-d’s are essentially worthless.

I probably should have known the whole thing was a bad idea, but when you’re looking for help launching a project, you’re going to seek out those who might be helpful. Even if that means going to people who’s judgment might be somewhat suspect. I’d say now that it’s probably safer to meet with someone you have absolutely no history with, than someone who knew you years ago. I have the most trouble with people can’t see beyond some faded impression of who I used to be. Get this through your head: people change, they grow, they learn.

A*hole knew me from younger days. I was confident and somewhat cocky, a fact that was borne out by my work, I think. If you successfully meet the challenges given to you each day, you’re going to build confidence, no? What I didn’t have— couldn’t have—back then, was “buzz”. I was a kid, pretty talented and ambitious, but still just a kid. Like many people, I was looking for a mentor—someone to follow, to model myself after. I looked to A*hole.

A*hole, wasn’t at all interested in mentoring anyone, though. A*hole was interested in acquiring “buzz”. It occurs to me now that a better word is “whuffie”, Cory Doctorow’s term for online cred, if I’ve got it right. Anyway, A*hole was all about “whuffie”—which is interesting, since whuffie is really an individual concept. When A*hole made company decisions based on “whuffie”, you have to wonder who’s interests were really being served, the company’s or A*hole’s?

There was a notable “whuffie” hire of A*hole’s that I remember. The hire had good reference whuffie, which got A*hole very excited. Problem was, the hire wasn’t a very good at their job and was terrible with deadlines. So, while A*hole’s whuffie increased, the company suffered.

I mention this because while I have strived over the years to compile knowledge and learn new skills, I am not a party person or an influencer, in Malcom Gladwell’s terms. I do not acquire whuffie; it’s of very little interest to me. Knowing this, I know how important it is to ally myself with an individual with good whuffie—it just makes good sense. In my mind, I balance out the whuffer. I stick with the internals of a product/business, making sure things are well thought out and scheduled. The Whuffer goes out and gets money and high-profile talent. I think you really need both, and I am more than willing to play my non-televised role.

The other thing to realize is that whuffie is easily created and destroyed. Whuffie is largely current. It fades quickly, meaning that you have to work hard to maintain it, and you can redirect it to someone new relatively easily. Given the choice, I guess I would rather focus on gathering talent than whuffie. Sure you need some around—it’s magnetic force will help draw certain things toward you, but you’re gonna need talent to actually produce anything.

So, I was disappointed to see that in this instance A*hole went again for maximum whuffie acquisition, which while a short-term gain for A*hole, will probably prove to be a project liability in several respects.

In the end, I didn’t want to rule over the project. I just wanted the chance to contribute at whatever level was appropriate or possible. I wanted to see some of my ideas realized (by me, of course). The project is not so small that an extra hand wasn’t warranted. It’s contributors not so genius that an extra viewpoint wouldn’t be valuable.

Conclusion
I was really torn on whether to vent on this at all, but hey, what’s a blog for if not venting? I hope that this gets it out of my system. I was really pissed and confused last week. I don’t like to sit around and think ill of people. I don’t like having to concede that people are that callous or even evil. There’s just too much crap in the world to excuse this kind of behavior. It’s wrong, and I will go to my deathbed knowing that what A*hole did was really pretty unconscionable.

The great majority of folk will never know anything about this, and will continue to go on day by day, thinking A*hole is a pretty great guy. And as long as A*hole perceives that you are whuffie-worthy, you’ll be right. I’m just glad that there a few individuals left in the world who value you because of who you are, not what you can bring them.

Here’s to you, A*hole. You have taught me a valuable lesson today. I will not soon forget it.