On Labels and Identities
Once, my entire perception of things in life was based on labels.
You are either an organic farmer or GMO supporter. You are either a humble bootstrapped startup or a brash, arrogant VC-funded company. You are either a master craftsman or a shady snake-oil salesman.
I many decisions in my career and burnt my fingers to learn the lesson that codified by Paul Graham years ago.
The more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you.
I made a jump from a big enterprise company to an agile, small startup which was funded by a famous VC. Of course, with the change in environment, one has to quickly unlearn and learn new routines, mental models, decision-making frameworks to excel.
Instead, I was shocked in a new startup, and I blamed it on the VC funding for the crazy and dynamic work environment. I thought a bootstrapped startup is the ideal environment for growth and success. I made a jump to one, and the reality hit hard on my face. I realised how shallow I was to trust the labels and not reading between the lines of a company’s messaging and branding.
Professionally, I was going through this mayhem and epiphany. Personally, I was in another awareness. I was high into learning about organic farming, self-sufficient living through composting, growing your food movement. I had this black and white way of looking at the world. I was missing the nuances and the greys. Soon, I realised people are minting money in the name of the organic label and came close to the anti-vaccination moment. My family has benefitted from modern medicine in many crucial occasions.
It took some time, good luck and wonderful colleagues and a supportive family & friends to be back on my feet and usual self.
My critical lessons from this period were this:
Keep your identity small - Paul Graham articulates it so beautifully in this essay. It is so easy to get caught in the maze of labels and identities. Instead, we need to more curious. We may not agree on what others do or like. Instead of reacting to that impulse, I question it and get interested in the other side.
Avoid extremely intense ideology - Charlie Munger frames it nicely in his famous speech: “I’m not entitled to have an opinion on this subject unless I can state the arguments against my position better than the people do who are supporting it. I think that only when I reach that stage am I qualified to speak.”