Would you be wise enough to uncover the truth hidden by his bad temper?
“I met with Tom, and he was so mean. It put me off,” my entrepreneur friend said.
I know Tom (not his real name). Tom is the kind of person that gets you thinking about what you are doing. He asks the right questions and then jumps in at the appropriate time to direct the conversation to an actionable conclusion. Whenever I ask Tom for advice, I feel more confident in my next step in business and life.
Something was different with Tom that day.
He was direct, short-tempered, and downright mean. That’s how the entrepreneur described him. He said, “Tom questioned why I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Why I think my idea is worthy of the light of day. Who was I to think I should start a company?”To be fair to this entrepreneur, all he told me initially was that his meeting with Tom didn’t go well. I was the one who kept asking questions until he reluctantly shared what happened in the discussion. I pressed not to have a gossipy conversation. I pushed because I couldn’t imagine Tom ever acting that way.
I learned something from this meeting.
When I need advice, I am self-centered. I have worn myself out looking at the problem from multiple angles. Now I approach this adviser to share it with them. I want help. I don’t think about what is going on with the adviser. The meeting is all about me. But sometimes advisers, all advisers have bad days.
They have fights with their spouses.
They learn that a close friend is ill.
They lose money on a significant investment.
They may meet with unappreciative entrepreneurs all day.
They give and give and are running on empty.
I’m sorry. (I’ve done the same thing.)
I wanted to know what happened between the entrepreneur and Tom because I’ve had these meetings. I always feel terrible after a session like this. But sometimes I can’t help it. It’s like when I was short with my kids. I knew I should be patient with them, but sometimes I didn’t have it. I was at the end of my rope. I had nothing left to draw on, so I barked at them and got snippy. To all those I have barked at, have been harsh too, have been meaning too, “I’m sorry.”
But is there a message in the meanness?
I advised the entrepreneur to set aside the emotion of the meeting with Tom. I said, “I bet Tom told you something you didn’t want to hear. Maybe he was even a bit insulting.“You can do one of two things with what he told you. Analyze it for truth and act on it. Or you can write him off as a moody old fool.”
It is your choice.
Just because Tom was having a bad day doesn’t mean he wasn’t right. He couldn’t package the message. Are you wise enough to uncover the truth his bad temper hid?