Ruthlessness and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is so often portrayed in a glamorised fashion. Successful founders often manage to raise millions of dollars and achieve huge valuations without much scrutiny as to the mechanics and controversial traits that may be necessary to achieve those dizzying heights.
Ruthlessness is one of those traits that conjures up images of a cold and calculated leader devoid of emotion, yet, so many of the successful leaders appear to have this trait.
In this article, we take a look at ruthlessness. Is it a toxic trait or a necessary evil? Here goes…
Meaning of Ruthlessness
Ruthlessness can be defined as the ability to make hard decisions without fear or hesitation. This ability often comes at the expense of others.
Ruthless entrepreneurs have the ability to cut ties, make difficult layoffs and obliterate competition without seemingly batting an eyelid.
Some of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and ex Amazon boss Jeff Bezos are renowned for their ruthless character traits.
Elon Musk was rumoured to have fired 80% of Twitter’s staff on its way to transitioning to the re-branded and revitalised X.
Steve Jobs was notorious for his perfectionism when it came to design. Jobs pushed his staff to their limits to achieve the perfection of the Apple products that he alone could imagine. This ruthless drive to succeed is what made Apple the multi-billion dollar organisation we know today.
Although often admired in business, ruthlessness can wreak havoc in the private lives of entrepreneurs and also leave a litany of devastation from personal relationships to disgruntled ex-employees and even ex-co-founders.
It’s clear to see that ruthlessness can have a positive impact in business but it also needs to be established that business is also about building relationships.
If an entrepreneur tries to build relationships purely on ruthless business dealings, rest assured those relationships will be brittle and will fail when the entrepreneur needs them the most.
Ruthlessness and Decision-Making
It’s essential that entrepreneurs understand that entrepreneurship is not just about making money and the bottom line. Yes, it’s important to keep the investors and shareholders happy, that is an essential element necessary for any business to keep the lights on.
However, your business no matter how small or large has hundreds if not thousands of people dependant on your enterprise. Be it staff, suppliers and contractors.
It’s easy to forget that people’s livelihoods and quality of life are reliant on the founder’s decisions. Staff may have families, they may be balancing health issues, dealing with sick relatives or all sorts of circumstances that a company founder could totally derail with one ruthless decision.
Therefore, entrepreneurs should think carefully before making ruthless decisions based on short term gains. However, if a decision is likely to affect the long-term sustainability of the business, a ruthless entrepreneur may need to close a division or reduce the workforce dramatically to preserve the company as a whole and protect the jobs of the majority.
With that in mind, some element of ruthlessness could be said to be necessary or even essential if the long-term future of your business is put at risk. Delaying your decision could place the future of your venture in jeopardy.
However, you should also be aware that being ruthless just for the sake of it can breed a culture of fear and instability, which could also impact your business negatively in the long-term. For example, quality new hires may be hard to find if you have built a reputation for ruthless dismissals and existing staff morale may plummet.
Ethics and Ruthlessness
A hard line needs to be drawn between ruthlessness which is sometimes necessary and unethical business practices.
Unethical practices could include cutting wages or ignoring worker safety for the sake of profits.
Founders who prioritise profit over people, risk breeding a toxic work culture, where employees feel disposable and undervalued.
In some cases, it can even tarnish the company’s reputation as seen in scandals involving companies like Uber, where ruthlessness reportedly contributed to a toxic corporate culture.
Transparency, accountability, and a focus on long-term relationships can help entrepreneurs manage the negative effects of ruthlessness.
Leaders who succeed often find a way to balance the demands of ruthlessness with empathy, recognising that while tough decisions must be made, they need not come at the cost of integrity and human dignity.
Ruthlessness and Competition
Entrepreneurship is obviously competitive and ruthlessness will often be necessary to compete in the marketplace.
Aggressive pricing, takeovers and lawsuits are all examples of how ruthless tendencies can manifest in business.
Some companies push ruthlessness to its limits by squeezing out all smaller rivals and undercutting until they die out only to raise prices to capitalise on market dominance once market share has been captured.
This type of behaviour raises questions about fair play and monopolisation of the marketplace. In most jurisdictions such practices may even be deemed illegal and huge fines can be imposed on companies that subscribe to this practice as seen in the Microsoft web browser market monopolisation case.
Entrepreneurs need to consider balancing how to outcompete in the marketplace with the broader responsibility of building a sustainable and positive legacy.
Ruthlessness vs. Resilience
It’s important that entrepreneurs understand the difference between ruthlessness and resilience.
As an entrepreneur resilience is absolutely essential in dealing with setbacks and the ability to endure adversity and the unexpected.
Unfortunately, ruthlessness often involves imposing setbacks on others. Entrepreneurs need to ask themselves if they are being resilient or ruthless at the expense of other’s well-being.
Building a company from the ground up requires the unique skill set of being able to absorb failures, combined with an ability to adapt.
Ruthlessness may help in making immediate, tough decisions, but resilience helps ensure a company’s longevity and sustainability.
Final thoughts
Ruthlessness may sometimes be required, especially when it comes to the long-term future of your venture.
However, entrepreneurs should also understand that ruthlessness can also have negative impacts on your company, including breeding a toxic environment of uncertainty and fear.
Entrepreneurs should focus on building long-term relationships and growing a healthy culture to eliminate unethical practices.
As an entrepreneur, you should be able to make tough decisions while keeping a clear moral compass to maintain compassion and dignity for all those who are dependent on your venture.
If you can achieve this balance you will not only be creating a valuable business but also a long-lasting legacy for the future.
Good luck!
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