Lunch is for Wimps!
Sounds silly now, doesn’t it? Why would you ignore the opportunities for connection, stimulation and creativity a lunch break provides?!
Michael Douglas’s portrayal of 80’s greed was the poster boy of one of the first businesses I worked for and my boss at the time would regularly remind us of this phrase whenever we complained that we hadn’t managed to eat between appointments and could we pop out and get a sandwich?
In that business, the culture was such that as employees we were expected to do whatever it took to get the deal done, no matter who or what stood in our way (even our colleagues). This was the early 2000’s and the office banter included more quotes from films like Wall Street, Glengarry Glen Ross (“Coffee’s for closers.”) and the more recent at the time, Boiler Room (Ben Affleck - “Anyone who tells you money is the root of all evil, doesn’t f*cking have any.”) whose money-obsessed, patriarchal essence was easily distilled and adopted as the office environment. The air was thick with greed and desperation - it was like working in a casino.
Culturally, this was as toxic as it gets - we were barked at, sworn at, had stationery thrown at us, and there was even a weekly shaming session where on Monday mornings if you hadn’t hit your targets from the week before, you had to turn up at 7am to explain yourself to the boss. This was not-so-affectionately known as “Banana Club” and the jeering would usually start on a Friday following our weekly wrap-up meetings where you had to call out your results for the week in front of everyone.
I knew I had to leave when one day, I was stressing out, stuck in traffic and running late for the all-important company meeting, knowing that if I wasn’t there when they called out my name, it would be really obvious and I’d end up in Banana Club. When I rang my boss to tell him, he told me to get there “even if I had to drive on the pavement.” Bearing in mind that this was Central London on a Friday afternoon, the pavements were full of people and I can remember looking around me and feeling totally helpless.
The odd thing was, in spite of all that awful treatment - and I saw a lot worse suffered by those that were bullied, mocked and harassed by my colleagues and superiors - I thrived in that environment. Which leads me to wonder now - what does that say about me?! I was young and knew little of the world, but I knew it was wrong and I didn’t like who I became when I was around them. I’m glad I got out when I did!
These days, when I come across a company whose culture seems to echo these ideas and treats its team members disrespectfully, I run a mile as this is usually driven by the leader, as epitomised by “Wolf of Wall Street”, Jordan Belfort; Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and many others in the finance and tech world.
In building the future of everything, it is important to remember that your team are not an expendable commodity, there to make money for you, at any cost.
Teams are brought together to help founders to achieve their business goals in a supportive, friendly and productive environment and as a leader, you have a duty to protect them from harm. They are also there to grow and develop their skills and improve, and you need to provide them opportunities to stretch themselves.
Abusing that power by using your people, is foolish at best and narcissistic at worst. Investing in your people is one of the best ways to ensure their loyalty, productivity and their respect which allows for a positive atmosphere and pleasant working environment for all. Including them by sharing equity also helps them feel included and responsible for their contribution to the growth of the business and is an easy way to retain and entice top talent.
As we face increasing levels of uncertainty, it is easy for leaders to slip into acting from a place of fear. Having ridden out 2 recessions in the past and with the scars to show for it, I am happy to advise companies who are going through hard times on how to navigate stormy waters whilst maintaining your ethical values and staying true to the culture you’ve created.