View: Grovel & Bash - what’s with criticism, founders & silent boards?

Public markets can be unforgiving. So can be the non-shareholder stakeholders including employees. If the consumers have to grovel to get what they paid for, they will criticise. That’s fair for the asking. Just as much as one expects bouquets and tall-praises.

In a market like India, consumers negotiate hard even for Rs 5 Kothmeer bunch and have a comment on how that fruit or vegetable piece looks. Especially if you are in the consumer industry, shouldn’t feedback, even if they are harsh and blunt and in the public eye, be acceptable for the betterment of the entity? Is macho-bravado response with cheap stunts befitting of the stature of the valuations that have been reposed on the organisation? Or is it the case of the individual not fitting that role of heading the platform?

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Some of the founders or the CEOs take their ‘larger-than-life’ image-perception to the external ecosystem, with their “because I say so” attitude and expect subservient behaviour. Given that they are creative and have built wonderful teams does not allow them to rough shod market feedback. Why it is that most of them don’t tolerate feedback? Or is the valuation-obsessed stakeholders like investors and media encouraging such wrong perception-metric?

This narcissistic control-obsession starts to hurt them, even if they don’t agree or acknowledge. That’s where their boards fail them even more! India has many such instances of the founders (both in traditional & startup sectors) destroying value & reputation, with their poor behaviour and their inability to be accepting of others. In almost most of these cases, (private cap-table) investors or the boards have kept silent. Not surprising, as it has lot of money at stake. And any meaningful conversation would need their time and attention in stabilising the organisation.

As a nation, we have a lot to cheer about in the success of our startup enterprises. They have brought in entrepreneurship under spotlight and are encouraging more younger Indians to look at entrepreneurship as a career as well as generate additional employability. For every successful startup, there are many hundreds who attempted but could not scale to commercial-viability. It is important to celebrate each of those learnings.

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With every successful business growth and valuation scaling, there is an expectation for being a better quality market participant (& corporate citizen), as it can encourage many other potential entrepreneurs. It is important to proactively work in improving governance aspects as well.

This is where their boards, mentors and advisors to the founders and CEOs have to be firm when things are sour. Well, if their investors don’t act up now, let them hold their silence forever; for they cannot claim to be pundits of corporate governance ever. They are then around only for booking valuation-profits. Governance is indeed a burning issue!

Disclaimer: No one was hurt in the process of this OpEd. Hence should not have any burning sensation or need for balm!