4. Likability
The world of commerce is regulated. Government, independent
watchdog groups, and the media play a large role in a company’s
growth. If you are perceived as a good actor, a good citizen, caring
about the country, its citizens, your workers, the people in your supply
chain that get you the product, you have created a barrier against bad
publicity. In the words of Silicon Valley marketer Tom Hayes, who did
just that for Applied Materials, “When the news is negative, you want
to be perceived as a good company to which a bad thing has
happened.” Image matters, a lot. Perception is a company’s reality.
That makes the importance of being likeable, even cute, the fourth
factor in the T Algorithm.
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer were neither likable nor cute. In fact,
the room got brighter whenever they left it. So, when Microsoft
achieved a certain level of influence, district attorneys and regulators
woke up one morning all over Europe and decided the easiest way to
the governor’s mansion, or Parliament, was to go after the Wizards of
Redmond. The less likeable a company, the sooner the regulatory
intervention—antitrust, antiprivacy—as questions about its supply
chain or any manner of rational concerns are irrationally selected and
applied. We are under the general illusion this process is more
thoughtfully examined and based on some sort of equity or the law.
Not true: the law decides the outcome, but the rush, or lack thereof, to
drag companies into court is subjective. And that opinion is largely
based on how nice or chastened the company is perceived to be.
If you remember, the feds went after Intel Corp. at the same time
they went after Microsoft—both for monopolistic behavior. Intel’s CEO
Andrew Grove was one of the scariest figures in American industry.
Yet, when the feds came calling, Andy did one of the biggest mea
culpas in business history. He all but flung himself on the mercy of the
SEC... and was forgiven. Meanwhile, Bill Gates, a far less
intimidating figure, decided to play tough with the feds—and ten years
later was viewed as having fallen from grace.
Google is a whole lot cuter than Microsoft. And Sergey and Larry
are more likable than Bill and Steve. Immigrants, nice-looking guys, a
great story. Marissa Mayer: very compelling. Wisconsin, engineer,