The Courage to Be Disliked

The “Courage to Be Disliked”, written by two Japanese, is a huge best-seller with over 3.5 million copies sold.

Throughout five nights, a young man with questions looks to get clarity from a philosopher, whose thoughts are based on the famous psychologist, Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of 19th-century psychology alongside Freud and Jung.

Even though the book delivers “n” inspiring thoughts, here I will restrain to the content of the third night, “Discard Other People’s Tasks”, because of its relationship to the work of a VC fund manager.

In general, by seeking recognition from others, we end up following what other people expect from us. And if we are absorbed in satisfying other people’s expectations, then it will become a difficult life to live, constantly worried about how others see us.

In summary, we cannot live trying to satisfy the expectations of others — we should then abandon the need to seek recognition from others.

The way to do this, and to turn our lives around, is to recognize the separation of tasks. If we look at our own tasks, we are the only ones who can induce change — no one else can.

Conclusion

The investment allocation task of a VC fund manager cannot be delegated.

Any trustable investment thought process must be fully aligned (skin in the game being a necessary condition for a true alignment of incentives) with the interests of the LPs.

They chose you seeking separation / specialization of tasks, knowing that it is impossible to satisfy everyone every time, since for every buyer there is a seller with an opposite perspective.

It is a solitary and introspective endeavor and, when you are fortunate (as in the case of Fabrica Ventures), you can count on the diligent and warm advice of experienced LPs.

But, in the end, we “do not live to satisfy the expectations of others … The courage to be happy also includes the courage to be disliked”.