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Why do entrepreneurs flock to loudmouths as mentors?
- iamwil 17y agoI've recently discovered that some of the best people are the ones you've never even heard of.
- ryanelkins 17y agoThe problem, of course, being that you've never heard of them. The more visible people have more followers largely because they are more visible. I'm not saying this makes it right, we need to learn how to find people based on value instead of visibility.
- iamwil 17y agoThey're usually too busy getting stuff done. Look for people getting stuff done and examine their work.
- benmathes 17y agoYou only hear the loudmouths because they're loudmouths. There's just as much gravitation towards the quiet gurus and mentors by those that seek them out.
- nopassrecover 17y agoIt's much harder to find someone who doesn't self market themselves.
- karzeem 17y agoLoudmouths have followers for the same reason that stock analysts and oracles do/did. In the face of risk and uncertainty, it can be really compelling when someone tells you they know how to make it all better.
- Goladus 17y agoI'm not sure this article really intends the point about the "loudest guy in the room" to be a metaphor. He seems to actually be talking about someone with a lot of in-person charisma. The internet is a bit different in that one is rarely labeled a 'loudmouth' until people start listening, making the question of "why do entrepreneurs flock to loudmouths" nonsensical.
- petercooper 17y agoIt'd take me some doing to dig out, but there was an article around on HN perhaps 2 years ago that demonstrated how people, on the whole, would rather listen to someone confident but typically more wrong, than someone less confident but who was typically more correct.
- mattm 17y agoOne of the life lessons I've recently learned is that the people who talk the most, generally accomplish the least. However, on the first meetings, these people are very good at giving the impression that they accomplish a lot.
- pasbesoin 17y agoThere was a rash of articles on this topic, in the general media. Probably due to the popularization of a research result, and/or piggy backing onto a particularly prominent news article. I don't recall the timeframe, but my memory fits your description.
- jayliew 17y agoOne thing not mentioned is the chemistry part. It's kind of a dating game in a sense that you have to like something about the mentor, and the mentor has to take an interest in you somehow. E.g. perhaps you remind him/her when he/she was at your age, etc. It has to be a 2-way street. You can ask someone all the Q's you want but only a mentor will be emotionally invested in your success and want to groom you. I have a few mentors, I find it an incredible experience that people miss out on if they aren't already. Finding mentors, is difficult. I've found mine by luck. But you can always optimize your odds by hanging out where people you think you would like to be your mentor hang out.