Gary Ong | April 19th, 2022

Startups are about people. In fact, all of life is about people. Sometimes, that’s a good thing: when someone smiles at us, it makes us smile too. But, oftentimes, we encounter people who are stressed, depressed, sad, and negative. We are told that we should remove these people from our lives. “They’re anchors, and they’re holding you down,” they say.

As someone who leads a startup, I am no stranger to folks who are sad, depressed, frustrated, or downright combative. After all, most of the things we try fail. Employees get frustrated when experiments implode. Investors become combative or defensive when they hear their world view challenged. Managers get angry, sad, or worried when the team misses a milestone. Running and working at a startup is truly difficult. If I were to remove people when they feel difficult emotions, there will be no one left on the team. I prefer an alternative perspective instead.

When you see someone sad, depressed, annoyed, angry, or frustrated, recognize that they are simply trapped by their own mind. The mind is an excellent servant but truly a terrible master. Your job is to help stage a prison break, to help them break free.

Image credit: Mario Azzi