Never Underestimate Anyone

Based on what you’ve seen as a leader and observing different teams, what do you think are some of the biggest roadblocks to effective teamwork?

I think first is not being flexible. I think, to me, flexibility is an important piece. But flexibly doesn’t mean you have to give up on your positions. I think flexibility means the ability to at least take the time to understand the other person’s position. And if you can take a minute to sort of fully internalize their perspective, think from their perspective, and then still come back to your own perspective, then it’s a powerful thinking.
And I think it’s hard sometimes because you’re so set—even for me, you know, sometimes you’ll walk in the meeting, you’re so set and you can be a little short, but I find the most effective claims you spend with people is when you take the time to take it from their point of view, understand it, even if ultimately, you’re advocating your point of view that just brings everyone along.
I think the second thing is to not underestimate anybody. And that is a lesson in diversity, a lesson in anything is, you can’t judge a book by its cover. So, taking extreme measures to sort of step back and say that this person, even though I have this bias, that this person is going to be like this, etc, to be able to rise above that, because that’s where you capture the best of the best. It could be based on youth, it could be based on skin color, it could actually be the opposite. You may not respect someone who’s old, because you might think they’re old fashion.
I remember, I think it’s like 17-18 years back, I was in front of an investor. And this guy, he owned a construction and sort of development company, very, very amazing guy, he’s probably like 60 or 70 years old, and I was pitching the Kaboodle’s idea to him, right? And he was asking me some questions. He says, “You know, let me bring my 13-year-old granddaughter into the meeting,” brought his daughter and I was like, “This guy really doesn’t understand my technology, or sort of what’s going on in the thing, and he was doing it. And then he asked me three questions and they just blew me away. I felt like he had specific insight. He was learning from his granddaughter, he gets this insight. And then what was more amazing was, within two hours, he committed the biggest check that I had raised in that round.

Wow.

So, I could have easily sort of gone in a different direction, in my mind, but by continuing engaging, etc, etc. And in fact, when I walked out, I thought he was not going to write me a check. By the time I drove from his office to the airport, walked in the airport, my other investor called me and said, “Did you see his email?” And I said, “What?” He said, “Well, he wrote a check, which was six times more than what I expected of him to write.” So, I feel like you’re constantly amazed and surprised at the great ability in people, and you just have to be open for them to be weird in a very good way.

That’s such an important lesson, Manish. I mean, I can’t underscore that enough. You could have easily written him off, and said, “Oh, my God, this guy needs his 13-year-old daughter to explain this technology to him. This is a disaster,” but you didn’t.

These days, I’m constantly tutored by my 12-year-old niece on the world. And I shudder when I’m in front of her, discussing with her, because I know that her knowledge on sustainability on what’s happening with different sort of global issues is far, far bigger than mine. So now I just listened to her to absorb, to learn from her. So, you have to be open, you know, from people.