Over the past week, two brilliant idiots have wiped out tens of billions of values – almost overnight.
First, we got to witness whiz kid Sam Bankman-Fried, obliterate not only his net worth from $26bn to $0 but singlehandedly undermine and destroy the trust of the global Crypto world. FTX has filed for bankruptcy and will leave a wake of misery for the people who devoted their daily life to his “cause.” It turns out that all his talk of altruism was disingenuous. If you aren’t familiar with what’s been going on with SBF and FTX, you should subscribe to Matt Levine’s daily newsletter – “Money Stuff.” It’s the most comprehensive and insightful financial newsletter for dummies like myself. I read it every day.
We then watched the world’s richest “man-baby” destroy Twitter. A massive percentage of Elon’s employees at Twitter showed him the middle finger after he gave them an emailed ultimatum that read as Caligula might have written it. It appears that most people are not that interested in being threatened or treated as indentured servants.
I feel terrible for all those employees who spent their time and energy building these two brands only to watch these two narcissists single-handedly destroy their teams’ collective efforts. Those weekends they spent at their desks, the early morning calls, and late-night emails – all the dedication went completely unnoticed. It was for nothing.
Most adults spend the majority of their waking hours at their job to make enough money to support themselves or their families. But more than that, people want to know that they are appreciated for their work and shown respect for the lives they lead outside the office. The days of employees getting satisfaction from punching a clock from 9 to 5 and collecting a paycheck are gone. People no longer worry that they will be sent back to the farm, mired in poverty, if they lose their job. We now have a much more educated workforce that can easily find another job. Right now, there are two jobs for every worker looking. And what they are looking for is to be given a fair wage for their work and be treated with respect – as an employee and a human being.
However, several CEOs and business owners are committed to keeping their heads up their asses and pretending the world has not changed. They are mystified as to why they can’t attract nor retain top talent – or any talent at all. They walk through their offices’ humiliating staff or lying about their intentions, or in Musk’s case, insulting his entire workforce in one tactless and obnoxious email. The job market is such that employees can be selective. There are better options, and they are not here for your bullshit. And wait until Gen Z hits the workforce. Living with four of them, I can tell you that being the tyrant will get you nowhere. More than any generation before, they will not be treated like shit. Not for a second.
Over the past three decades, I’ve witnessed the real estate industry come full circle. When I entered the industry, most people were interested in being associated with a brand that resonated with their business style and aligned with their values. Then, the sector became all about hopping to the company that was this year’s new shiny penny. Instead of working together, everyone worked for themselves. In a service industry, this is counterintuitive, but we saw this nonetheless. Now, we are starting to see a bounce back to real business. Agents aren’t focused on free money, bullshit stock options, or catered lunches. They don’t need a ping pong table or candy bar to be successful. They don’t want lying and broken promises. What they need is a team to help them sell real estate by respecting them and their business.
If the pandemic taught us anything, it was that life is unpredictable and comes at you fast. Those of us in today’s workforce aren’t looking to dedicate our life to our companies, but we will dedicate our time to those companies that respect our life.
It’s actually sad that neither Musk nor Sam Bankman-Fried understood this. They lost incredible talent by being total assholes and fortunes of money along with it. A couple of brilliant idiots who forgot that their companies are made of people, and without people, you have no company.
Let’s do this.
–Shaun