Back in the good old days if you and partner, employee, etc, got into a kerfuffle, 10 million of your closest friends were not sitting up in the bleachers adding commentary, jumping to the wrong conclusions, and generally making not so good situations, worse.
I'm reminded of this while watching Michael Arrington having to deal with some dirty laundry over at TechcrunchUK. Ouch. It's lonely at the top, Mike; that's why you pay yourself the big bucks, eh?
On the one hand, I've heard more than one person tell me these kinds of flare ups give people a chance to do the right, define themselves, etc.
On the other hand, others make the valid point that issues like this tend to distract the company, serve no real purpose, and take on lives of their own.
Several of the portfolio companies I manage have had, at one time or another, 'flare ups' that spilled out into the streets (aka BlogLand). My consistent council is typically been these three points:
- This too shall pass.
Unless you done something really dumb like claim a patent on air or give out your customer's credit card information, do like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe says: Don't panic. While I'm not a PR expert by any means, it just seems to me that saying as little as possible is usually a good tactic. Mike, it appears, got forced into his public food fight. Lay out the facts, try to remain clam, and move on.
- It's personal so don't make it personal.
While on my trip to Antarctica, I had saved up a whole bunch of posts/comments from blogs I never get to read. While bouncing around the Drake Passage, I happen to show my laptop to 77 year guy also on the trip. Leaving aside the fact he was in 10x better shape than me, he read a bunch of the posts and saved comments only to observe that in his day people just seemed to be nicer when disagreeing about stuff. Anonymity, he said, was not all that it is cracked up to be. My point is simply avoid the attacks. Don't call people liars, cheats, assholes, etc. You do, you loose. "We have a difference of opinion" makes the same point as "that's just stupid." Try not to fire back and have faith that rational, smart people, who are the ones that count anyway, will see through the nonsense and come to a fair conclusion.
The list really isn't longer. As a start up, you can not afford this kind of drama. People problems happen, disagreements happen, etc, but in most cases, being fair to all concerned should resolve it at least to the point where neither party feels compelled to rumble in the street.
We live in interesting times.
Interesting, when I started to read this posting I first thought you would be talking about what Jeff Jarvis posted today about Michael Arrogant I mean Arrington http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2006/12/12/little-big-man/
in your opinion do you think Jeff is hanging his dirty laundry with respect (or disrespect) to Michael?
Posted by: silent observer | December 13, 2006 at 16:16
Hmm.. I missed that cat fight. I'd like to tell you, gee its different because this is a pile of personalities going at it but I suspect, in the end, it is in fact all the same. I've never seen the value add in all the personal shots. I've met every single one of those folks in person and have had enough conversation with each (and great meals with Dave Winer) to believe they are all passionate people with deep held beliefs. Off the air (so to speak) they are super nice people. Must be something about a keyboard, I guess. Thanks for stopping by, great nick name, btw.
Posted by: rick segal | December 13, 2006 at 20:01
"Must be something about a keyboard, I guess"
...or the 10 million people attached to it. I started posting to stock discussion forums - the toughest crowd on the planet - back in 95 and have turned it into very a successful business. Much of that success can be attributed to the fact I kept my cool at all times, thereby, maintaining credibility and authority.
It also helps to concede at least part of the debate. It disarms your adversary while actually elevating your status with the audience.
Best,
George
Posted by: Agoracom | December 13, 2006 at 22:25
Richie's rule: if it doesnt cause you lose sleep, no big deal, if it does ,apologize then ignore, move on...
Posted by: Richie Hecker | December 14, 2006 at 23:31