Arron’s Blog

If you know me, you have probably heard me make reference to “tribal economics.” I often use this concept as a way to justify working 18 hours a day in a startup (villij.com). Tribal economics is the concept that everyone contributes to her or his full capacity, and with that understanding, everyone is taken care of to the extent that the group either succeeds or fails. Please don’t mistake this concept for communism or socialism, or any other ism. The brutal fact is that all people are not created equal. Everyone does not posses the same abilities, or even comparable abilities for that matter, and all people do not have the same needs. In order for a group to operate under the premise of tribal economics - as I believe many startups do, or rather are forced to - individuals must maintain a respect not only for each other’s abilities, but for each other as well. This is the acknowledgment that whether we like it or not, we are all in it together. The larger a group gets the harder it becomes to recognize this. (If you try to institutionalizes respect it becomes discipline and looses its power.) My father, who grew up as one of the only white kids in a rural Alaskan village, always used to tell me, if you lose respect for anything, you lose respect for all things. In short, respect is not something to be earned; it is something to be given without reservation. Respect is the basis of tribal economics and of surviving a startup with your integrity intact.