Adrie's Blog

It has to fit

Don't get me going about the fact that everything, product, service or human always seems to have to fit a particular pigeonhole - it's been a major annoyance of mine for many years. It seems that only when we have figured out if someone is man or woman, black, brown, white or green, studied or illiterate, christian, protestant, muslim, catholic, tall or small - we are able to form an opinion about that person. Often this "analysis" is underwritten by the fact that we "finally understand" them, once defined according to the norm - what there is to understand, is left up to me to guess, other then that we now have them pigeonholed, templated according to our society's standards and therefore they are considered safe.
It seems to unnerve us if someone does not fit into our template, everyone gets confused. It has to be MADE to fit - even if you are seriously ill, or very emotional about something - please don't show it because you are not matching what we can deal with, matching that which we know.

Entrepreneurs, almost by definition, do not follow the norm people have structured. They are different, they take risks, are creative and so often you will get the feeling that behind your back, society will whisper "don't listen to him/her, it's not safe to" or "He/She is an egoist, anti-social". The curious fact is that as soon as that entrepreneur has reached a certain status in life (mostly based on their earnings rather then their enlightenment) - suddenly everything he/she says will become gospel and seen to be the absolute truth by the exact same society, irrespective of the wisdom of their words. Nobody wonders these days if Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or Richard Branson are right when they come out with something - whereas in their early careers they were often regarded as nuts, weirdos or anti-establisment. You only need to read their autobiographies to understand exactly how they felt then.

The same pigeonholing goes on, even more explicitly, when dealing with bankers or VC's. If you come up with a proposal for an investment - they first have to test whether it fits their model - be it a product or service. If they cannot place it, then they get confused and immediately say "no" because they lack the creativity and insight to view each investment on its own merits. They have to be able to compare, to draw extensive chats, measuring gives them their grasp on something. It it isn't laid out in simple 2-dimensional terms for them, it can't exist. 3D thinking is beyond the average financier. That is why I so admire those investors that truly believed in something new, that see the progression of time instead of make every new step fit into an old, existing model. I applaud the people that financed the early stages of the Googles and Twitters - believing in the new world that these would lead to. They are, unfortunately, exceptions rather then the rule.

It seems that if someone does not fit into a standard model, it forces people around them to think for themselves too much. It begs them to take their own risks and except that they will be held responsible for their choices. Most people don't like that - they are too lazy or disinterested to look beyond the obvious, to stretch their own development and reach out to really understand the person or plan in front of them rather then merely peg them into the templates they have lived by for ever.

The real entrepreneur, however, will not let themselves be placed into any category. No, they will strive to break the mold and continue to focus on their own goals.