Three Things I Learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events
The "cringe" of LinkedIn, Youth sport's impact on my business, and what it's like being betrayed a lot (hint: it's normal)
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech and Live Events
LinkedIn has gotten (always been?) as the kids would say: cringy. And I’m as guilty of it as anyone. Somehow, shameless self promotion and advice have become the norm- and I bit on the trend too and let it influence me. The whole point of doing three things is to share experiences, in the first person, and what I learned this week in a journal format. Not as advice or anything, but as a diary to the kids and my loved ones. That morphed into “we” and a tone of advice, on occasion. I’ll do my best not to do so anymore. Can’t promise no cringe though, I’m a boring dad and as far away from being a trendsetter as there is.
I’m at a volleyball tournament today, on a work day. When we started the company, there were a lot of stereotypes about different groups as we started hiring (Those with Kids, Moms & Dads, Remote, Millennials, X, part-time students, etc). The one I wasn't warned of which seems to erode productivity the most: youth sports dads. (Moms too but dads, IME, are the most consistently absent). I have three kids. They play sports. Usually, their practices are late afternoon and still during work hours - or early enough that getting the kid to the practice is eating into work hours. I have a job so, if I’m called on to take someone to practice, I’ll drop them off and hit the local Starbucks to plug in. Been doing it for years. The vast majority of dads? They watch practice. The whole thing. No computer in sight. At 4pm, which means they left work much earlier. I understand some work early hours and have real flexibility, but most don’t. Once they cut out, they're done for the day the majority of the time. Youth sports is vital. A once in a lifetime experience I'd like to enjoy as much as possible. But little Sally/Johnny are unlikely to play professionally. And this job is professional. There have been so many things which cause dips in productivity for our team. I didn’t know the biggest culprit would be youth sports practice. Games, I get it. But "we talkin bout practice?"
“The average person is betrayed three times in their lifetime. However, the average leader is betrayed seven times each year.” Heard this in a sermon by Ricky Jenkins and it has been true in my experience running a company and helping others. I still haven’t gotten used to it, but have learned to expect it. Everyone has different interpretations of what a job is, what loyalty is, etc. it’s happened to me quite a bit though and it hardens people.