Beware The "Techspiracy Theorist"
The "Techspiracy Theorist" pointing to fraudsters Sa Bankman-Fried, Elizabeth Holmes, and Adam Neumann.
CEO of Punks & Pinstripes⏐Keynote Speaker⏐Fortune 500 Executive⏐Mistake Maker⏐Punk Enthusiast⏐Recovering Wall Street Analyst⏐Dad
One unfortunate fallout of the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried, and the collapse of the tech hype-cycle, is the revived power of the Techspiracy Theorist in the C-Suite. The Techspiracy Theorist is more prevalent in the C-Suite of non-tech industries (Banking, insurance, oil and gas, CPG, retail, apparel) and they believe that anyone using emerging technology is part of a global cabal of cyborg monsters trying to commit grand larceny.
During the hype cycle they quarantine new technology to a pathetic venture studio or innovation lab that is underfunded, hermetically sealed, and over-hyped.
Once the hype cycle bursts, the Techspiracy Theorist pounces, and tries to eliminate all innovation technologists from the firm.
The Techspiracy Theorist always has a legitimate, openly stated motive, and an opportunistic, hidden motive.
The legitimate motive is that most emerging tech, especially in an obscene hype cycle like the one we’re coming out of now, is total bull$hit disguised as enlightened transformation. For every sensible use case, there are 300 which will never be usable, useful, used, or scalable. Their creators seek to capitalize on breathless enthusiasm in order to separate people from their money. (See Elizabeth Holmes, Sam Bankman-Fried, Adam Neumann, all crypto currency, etc….)
The opportunistic, hidden motive of the techspiracy theorist is the exact same as every other innovation obstructionist: They’ll lose power if the company modernizes. So, instead of evolving, they thwart essential change in order to save themselves. Their fiefdom is run with a filing cabinet, fax machine, and the ability to arouse fear to thwart change.
If you’re using new technology to modernize an old company in an old industry, you cannot ignore the techspiracy theorist. If they haven’t emerged yet, they will. Here’s how to prepare for them:
1. Invest only in projects which grow sales, reduce cost, or reduce risk. Unwind all investments in anything else, and redeploy that money into things your CFO can talk about on an earnings call with investors. This isn't fair - many pre-revenue/ pre-profit initiatives take a long time - but the techspiracy theorist will leverage all of those projects to build their case against you.
2. Technological tools and talent are trading at a discount right now. Work closely with the leaders who depend on your tech for the points listed in number 1, about how to capitalize on these discounts.
3. Arm yourself with data - not dogma. The minute you say, "(AR/ VR/ AI/ Blockchain/ Web3/ other is changing the world” is the minute you’ve fallen into the Techspiracy Theorist’s trap. No one cares about changing the world when the stock market is down 20% year to date. Make sure you have rock-solid data that can hold up to the scrutiny of an innovation-skeptic.
4. Proactively debunk the hype. No will believe you’re smarter or more ethical than #sbf until you’ve emphatically and publicly exposed all of the mythologies and frauds about the technology that you believe has real value. You'll be considered an enemy until you prove you're an ally.
Above all, understand that if you can withstand the onslaught you'll likely experience reconciliation and breakthrough growth. Many of the greatest executives I've ever worked with were Techspiracy Theorists who developed the zeal of the newly converted once it became clear that no one was trying to murder or rob them.
