Page 184 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success

Integrity of Communication 163

the truth. “You want to do something,” he says, “so you talk to people
who work for you. You talk to family and friends. But you’re only look-
ing for confirmation: You’re not looking for the truth. You’re looking
for somebody to tell you you’re right.”11

As we saw in Chapter One, most aspiring entrepreneurs collect
affirmations like a teenager collects text messages. Constructive,
sugar-free criticism is hard to find, even when you crave it, so if you’re
looking for validation instead, you will certainly find it. And when you
finally encounter the rare, no-holds-barred critique of your idea, you
might bristle and defend against it, rather than openly consider its
meaning.

Lynn Ivey looks back at her early planning for The Ivey and re-
members having little patience for people who raised concerns or
pointed out risks to her plan. Because she was already locked into a
path to construct a world-class facility, her focus was on evangelizing
the concept and raising funds. She couldn’t fully contemplate the pos-
sibility that her model might have significant flaws. The train had left
the station, so to speak, and she needed affirmation and positive ideas,
not skepticism or debate.

In particular, she recalls how the former CEO of a major healthcare
system told her he believed The Ivey would have trouble competing
with the established in-home care services in the area. Looking back,
Lynn wishes she had been more curious about his concerns and probed
for more insight, but, at the time, she wrote him off as a somewhat com-
bative curmudgeon, someone who didn’t understand her vision.

HUMILITY

Humility is the opposite of hubris and serves as its antidote. No
amount of passion and expertise will eliminate your blind spots or
protect you from mistakes. To the contrary, your enthusiasm for an
idea is more likely to narrow your field of attention and accentuate
the risk of blindness. You cannot know in your startup’s earliest stage
what the customer will want, what the markets will reward, how com-
petitors will behave, or what unpredictable twists and turns the future
will bring. Accepting this reality is the essence of humility.

American Management Association • www.amanet.org