What is Authenticity?

Being authentic is an interesting concept for me. I believe there is a level of appropriateness that comes along with authenticity, especially in the business world. I understand that when we see the typical start-up founder, young person with a hooded sweater and possible feelings of ambivalence towards the world. It speaks to someone that is not concerned with getting dressed up. That style speaks to the notion of the work is more important than the look; or I think that is what it means. A total stereotype I know.

I find it interesting that style speaks differently in different contexts. In the neighborhood, a guy with the sweater’s hood hanging deep over the eyes might cause one to put a wallet and phone in the front pocket or cross the street. Eyes looking to the side, ear to your phone as a distraction, pass as quick as possible without appearing scary. I always had some strange idea that maybe Silicon Valley would have a shift once the other type of hooded sweater guys started to have big ideas knocking on the door asking for money.

I’m from the neighborhood, and I’m no tough guy, but I always saw myself doing the opposite because that look is something that someone like myself wanted to steer away from.

Then I thought, maybe that is the difference: A kid that grows up with a father that wears a business suit might want to be more casual, and vice-versa. So what happens when a guy walks into a pitch meeting all suited up? It might even be a disadvantage, especially on the west coast. Again, another stereotype because some might see that as a person well-groomed and well-prepared.

I had a visit from a friend and the ol’ sailor language brews to the surface naturally. Later, I thought about the change from one situation to another. If I was having coffee with a developer, I would not speak in that fashion; obviously. Would that be inauthentic? It would be without doubt unprofessional, but some might see it as “well, he’s just being himself and at least I know what I am getting; approve/disapprove.” Probably not.

I’ve had this thought many times and it brought into reflection my own concept of authenticity. In my world, I define authenticity as being situational. That might seem a bit chameleon, but I feel that having a one-track mind with a robotic cadence of attitude toward every situation is limiting. I want to have a huge tool set that I can choose from. It has taken a lot of time and serious experiences, positive and negative, to understand this.

Sure, I would like to “ let the hair down” (my head is shaved) and just be myself, but in certain contexts, I don’t want to be myself at that particular time. I do want to speak in my own way but that might raise a few eyebrows, not in a good way I believe. I always wonder if other folks felt that way. As I write this I realize that each situation takes time for people to get comfortable and come out of the shell. However, we have all met those creatures that are just whatever they are all the time, and it somehow just works.

I worked at a precast concrete shop a while back and I thought I fit in real well there. “You ain’t in college no more home boy! Hurry the f**k up!!” followed by a great laugh which resonated through the noisy factory. That was the introduction to the place. “Oh look, now the black guy has a friend at the lunch table!” We all had a great laugh, including myself. It was by far the best job I ever had. These guys dispensed with the bullshit and worked together. You did not have to look over your shoulder and worry about interpretations or tone. Is what you said clear and understandable? That was it. The communication, which is critical when you have ten ton concrete vaults craning through the shop and dangerous things all around, is ultra-critical. There is no time for me to ‘tell it to you nice.’ No. pick that s*#t up, bring it over here right now. Bam. Done. Next.

When I think about the company I want to run, I wish it could be that easy. It takes a breaking in period to get used to that level of directness, oh but once you have it, it is awesome. That is a type of authenticity but that brand is not for everyone. In the shop it is something that you have to earn; baby steps. However, there are rules of respect. The manager would never get pissed off in a group, lose his cool, and cuss someone out. That could be bad. Even for me when I was there, the foreman never berated me, publicly or privately, even if there was an error. If something was amiss, he might yell out “get that out of here, send it to the trash. Do it again!” But he would never call me a personal insult. Plus, he was a stout guy, with stout being an understatement. Regardless of stature, he was a true professional and I enjoyed working with him once we got going.

For any disputes that got out of hand, the shop had a built in solution which I believe separates blue collar and white collar authenticity. The factory had the ‘sandblast pit.’ It was a room where they took concrete fabrications to sandblast them to remove the smooth top layer and expose a rough texture. When you see a concrete sign that is partially smooth and rough, it was sandblasted. The sandblast pit was way off to the side of the shop by the back shop door. It has a rubberized fabric curtain to contain all of the sand dust and sound was not going to travel far. The alternate usage of the sandblast pit was a ‘dispute resolution room.’ If there was a conflict or tension, two folks might quietly visit the sandblast pit and seek a resolution. What happens in the sandblast pit stays in the sandblast pit.

Thankfully, I never visited the sandblast pit, but there were a few people there that had one, maybe two visits. It was not a held with some twisted sense of pride or status, it was a reality to let people have at it so they would not get fired. It reminded me of the neighborhood corner, the place where a dispute between friends would be resolved. There were two points of view, a direct challenge, and everyone went about their business.

What if a company like Apple had a sandblast pit? Steve Jobs, rest-in-peace, may have been different about dealing with challenges. I don’t know. (No disrespect to Steve Jobs by the way, the great leaders of our times). Maybe I sometimes misinterpret the white-collar world, but I think the sandblast pit would be misused. I see the white-collar world as a place with some toxic tendencies can go unchecked because there are no direct consequences. Sure, a computer guy can do some serious damage in many ways, don’t get me wrong, but we just don’t see that world physically policing itself into order if necessary. I may be uninformed and for this post, it’s ok! Here’s an example in my mind. There might be some business guy that starts taking jiu-jitsu and presses some people’s buttons so he can intimidate folks to get a feeling of victory by starting trouble with some geek. I am not saying all guys are like that but the bad overly competitive guys. But you must watch out these days because there are guys you would think are nerds out there that can put it down and choke that a$$ out.

I guess I am just being cynical. When I was at the shop for close to a year, not once did I see anyone provoke another person. I am sure some people got close but there was such a cultural air of working together that it never came about. I heard stories of the sandblast pit, and the visitors, there was never a event so disruptive that would warrant it.

When I look at some TV shows about start-ups and Silicon Valley and you see these CEOs getting outwardly frustrated and fired up, then talking about it like it is some badge of honor or rite of passage. That is disturbing to see. That is what I love about understanding the blue collar and white collar worlds; it is a type of checks and balances in my mind. I would see something happen in an office and I would think “I don’t think that would happen at the shop like that.”

So what was it about the Concrete Shop culture and how can that type of authentic and direct culture be replicated in the white-collar world without generating conflict. I am not sure if you could do it in today’s world unless you are an ultra wealthy company owner. When things need to get done sometimes feelings need to get put aside. “I need you to drop everything and get this done right now!” There are folks out there that might think “what does that mean?” Hell, in the office I might have entertained a thought like that. Maybe it was just being in an office, but in the shop it was different. Everyone just got it. There was so much at stake. In my time there, two people were injured, one guy got half of his finger cut off, and our panel team narrowly avoided getting smashed by a 20,000 pound concrete slab that broke away from its support pin. In those cases, there is no time to think about your feelings. Just get it. move it, put it together, and go. Right now! It makes me laugh when I hear that because the foreman would just tell you to do this thing right now, in a colorful way, and… you would just go do it right now. Simple. Is that authenticity?

Maybe going back and forth from those two worlds has be challenging. You’d be surprised how it can be tough to adjust from one to the other. When you’re just working away and you get excited about something and get a tad excited in the design studio, only to realize that you are in fact in an architect's office, not a construction site. Or you were about to slap your co-worker (male co-worker!) on the backside in passing.

So what is authenticity? Well… It is what it is! ok, there. I just took the easy route; it is what it is. Authenticity is who you are even if who you are is made up of many things not just one simple entity that makes every feel comfortable due to your predictability. It includes a collective of the places that you have worked. If you have worked at a ton of places, well, you must consider starting a company.

As I continue writing I know that there is so much more to think about with this topic and I will be sure to revisit it someday in the future. Until then I guess I will stick with being whatever I believe the situation requires: be yourself, even if bring yourself is a bunch of things.