The Resilient Entrepreneur, Edition #137
Hi there
I hope you had a great week!
Here are the topics in today's edition:
- Nobody Likes to Be Ignored. The Secret Power of Talking to People
- Change of Guard: It’s Time to Replace the Peacetime Generation
Please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions for articles!
Talk soon,
Tom
TACTICS FOR RESILIENT ENTREPRENEURS
Nobody Likes to Be Ignored. The Secret Power of Talking to People
I have worked in places where people preferred talking ABOUT each other rather than TO each other. Thank God those times are over.
“Your excellent communication skills make it easy for you to reach your goals with our customers.”
“You interact naturally with superiors and colleagues.”
“You are confident in communicating new ideas and challenging conventional thinking.”
At Yonder, the B2B SaaS company I co-founded, we look for strong communication skills in all candidates, for technical and non-technical positions. You could argue that this is a standard requirement in today’s highly interactive economy, and you’re right. And that’s why this article isn’t about communication skills.
It’s about something else.
Being able to communicate with people is one thing, but do you actually practice communication with your team?
Founders Talk
Founding a company is a bit like marriage. You shouldn’t embark on such a venture with everyone, as it’s hard to get out of it again.
Just like you shouldn’t marry someone whom you don’t like to talk to, you shouldn’t start a company with people you don’t like to talk to.
My co-founders and I talk every day, either in person or by phone. No matter whether the topic is work-related or purely personal, I always enjoy talking to them.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, my kids used to play in the background of my home office. Quite often, when I ended a call, they would say, “Do you need to tell your co-founders now?” And in most cases, that’s what I did; not just updating them about the latest developments, but also enjoying a quick chat with them.
Work Talk
Naturally, most conversations with office colleagues are about work topics. Let us discuss that new feature. Have you heard back from this prospective customer? Let us work out a few options to solve that customer’s problem. Can we talk about removing some tech debt? Let’s see which of the open audit findings we can close quickly. The list of topics is endless.
Interest in work-related topics should be natural in any company. It’s a free world; if you don’t like the kind of work your company does, go find another job.
However, if I compare work-related discussions in our company to some of my previous assignments in large corporations, there is a striking difference: I remember many situations in the corporate world when people didn’t talk to each other about work-related topics, simply because they didn’t like each other.
They preferred talking about each other rather than to each other. Toxic.
Personal Talk
I like conversations best when work and personal talk unconsciously start to mix. That’s only possible if you like talking to each other rather than about each other, of course.
In my function as an active reserve battalion commander in the Swiss Armed Forces, I have the pleasure of talking to all the junior officers in my battalion once a year. Imagine this: 1-on-1 talks with young lieutenants who could be my sons, three or four ranks between us.
Of course, I could keep these 1-on-1 talks formal. But I hardly ever do this. Most of the interactions are personal, about their interests, their lives, their plans. If you want to build cohesion in any group of people, you cannot stick to work and formal discussion items; you have to include personal topics.
Conclusion
Nobody likes to be ignored. And omitting personal topics from discussions can feel like being ignored.
I’m not saying you should prioritize personal topics in all work conversations. But being genuinely interested in people can do wonders to build trust and high-performing teams. And compared with other trust- and team-building measures, it takes so little. What are you waiting for?
STRATEGIES FOR RESILIENT ENTREPRENEURS
Change of Guard: It’s Time to Replace the Peacetime Generation
We will have to ditch a few familiar things if we want to be successful in the next 30 years. And this will involve replacing a few people.
Flashback to 1944. War raged worldwide, and the Normandy landings pushed the war into a decisive phase. The strain on men and material was intense. Attrition was exceptionally high, leading to the rapid promotion of exceptionally young officers to general ranks: the youngest U.S. brigadier general was 28, and the youngest U.S. major general was 37.
But attrition was not the only reason very junior officers were promoted to general ranks. Incompetence of more experienced officers who were sacked in the heat of battle produced more baby generals, as the youngsters were unofficially called.
Back to 2026. In Ukraine, a country at war for more than 4 years, the commander of the armed forces is only 44. Mykhailo Drapatyi replaced more experienced generals, officially citing his affinity for drone warfare and lack of Soviet-era military education.
Now, why do I care about wartime leadership lessons whilst sitting in cozy, neutral Switzerland? Because I care for my country and I don’t think it’s a good idea to continue with the peacetime ideas of the last 30 years. We will have to ditch a few familiar things if we want to be successful in the next 30 years. And this will most probably not work without replacing a few people.
Let’s look at a few examples.
Example 1: Stand up for your opinion
This year, I was involved in a political campaign for the first time in my life. It was a grassroots campaign, starting at zero.
Our campaign promotes the defense against ballistic missiles and drones in Switzerland, my home country. As an active reserve officer in the Swiss Armed Forces and an entrepreneur, this topic is close to my heart. Yonder, the B2B SaaS company I co-founded, depends on data centers that need to be protected against missiles and drones. Furthermore, no data center runs without electricity, so our electricity grid infrastructure needs protection, too.
When we built up the campaign committee, quite a few of the initial team chickened out. They did so because they were afraid of being criticized for their opinion. They weighted avoiding a few scars higher than standing up for their opinion and their country. A clear sign that their time is up, and they need to be replaced by fresh forces.
Example 2: What would we do if war started today?
As an active reserve battalion commander in the Swiss Armed Forces, I spend quite some time with my company commanders. I invest lots of time in aligning them on the responsibility we carry as commanders: We are responsible for ensuring that as many of our troops as possible return safely from any kind of engagement, including from a full-scale war.
Now, like many other European countries, Switzerland has neglected its armed forces during the peaceful period of 1990–2020. As a consequence, we wouldn’t have everything we need if war started today.
My company commanders and I openly discuss what we would do if war started today. Most probably, we would have to find novel ideas rather than screaming for more equipment.
Let’s look at Ukraine again. They have a 44-year-old commander-in-chief. They built up an entire drone and missile industry during an all-out war. I dare say that such a transition needs other people than those who managed the last 30 years. It would be the same if Switzerland were ever sucked into a war.
Example 3: Out of ideas
This article is not just about the military, and it’s not about shunning older people. Its core ideas can just as well be applied to entrepreneurship.
I’ve been at the helm of Yonder, the B2B SaaS company I co-founded, for almost 12 years. Although 12 years is not 30 years, the world looked different in 2015 than it does in 2026. Nobody knew what COVID-19 or remote work was. There were no full-scale wars in Europe, Israel, and Iran. Artificial Intelligence was an academic concept, not a commodity.
Even if you think you’re progressive and open to change, it’s no secret that at some point, you will run out of ideas on how to run your business, generate sales, or improve your tech stack.
When this happens, it’s time to replace the crew. And yes, that includes yourself.
About Me
I’m a tech entrepreneur, active reserve officer, and father of three — writing about entrepreneurship, leadership, and crisis management from hard-won experience. No AI, no fluff, no promos. Just plain-text insights for people building and leading under pressure.
When I’m not solving problems, I find clarity in the mountains around Zermatt.
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