I vs We in Talking About Your Company

Written by

Last week an entrepreneur was taking me through their progress over the past five years. Only, the entire conversation was in the form “I did this, I signed that account, I achieved this growth, etc.” Everything came out with the word “I” at the beginning, implying that he did it alone. Unfortunately, this was a real company with several employees and it was clear that “we” wasn’t in his vocabulary.

Entrepreneurs would do well to refer to team accomplishments and activities as “we” and not “I.” Constituents, including employees, investors, partners, and customers, want to be part of an inclusive, team-oriented company. People don’t want to be part of an organization where the entrepreneur implies he’s the one that does everything.

The next time an entrepreneur overuses “I”, tactfully point out that it takes a team to go far, and that “we” is more engaging.

What else? What are some more thoughts on “I” vs “we” when talking about your company?

Comments

8 responses to “I vs We in Talking About Your Company”

October 6, 2014

Aaro

Good post David. I am doing pitch prep for VA and have heard way too many “I’s” the past few weeks. Part of the challenge is knowing that investors invest in a management team, not just the entrepreneur.

Reply
October 7, 2014

Cam Lanier

This is great advice.

Reply
October 7, 2014

James Cowley

As a headhunter working with start-ups in Europe, my only comment would be that, if / when the entrepreneur is looking for a new role later down the line, when he / she is interviewing, they need to reverse this. Nothing more frustrating on interviewing a Founder / CEO than having to ask ‘But what did you do?’ The team takes credit in most situations. ‘You’ take credit in interviews.

Reply
1. October 8, 2014
  
  Kristian Andersen
  
  I can tell you as someone who is actively involved in hiring for my business, and a variety of others, that hearing “I” as opposed to “we” is a huge turn-off, even in the interview process. It’s a sure sign of, at best, being out of touch and at worst, pure narcissism. I’d add that referring to your direct reports as “your employees” or people that “work for you” is also a bad sign. As far communicating “what you do” or “what you’re capable of” – there are lots of opportunities in an interview to detail your specific contributions to a business or project’s success. But at the end of the day, if you’re taking sole credit for success – I’m usually going to pass.
  
  Reply
  1. October 8, 2014
    
    u14010250
    
    i totally agree with you. it shows that one is arrogant and it is a big “put-off” for any individual. a personal view is that no matter how big or small a company is it is build as a team- for surely without the employees it would not be a success. “we” is also more encouraging and collective, allowing people to feel part of this venture or company
October 7, 2014

billnussey

Well said, David. It’s a good habit for any leader to use the term “we” – it’s a constant reminder and reflection of the fact that very little gets accomplished without the focused efforts of a group of people.

Reply
October 7, 2014

Clark Seydel

“I” is so boring to listen to bc it appears the person is bragging/over stating and makes one seem far less reputable.

Reply
October 8, 2014

Bill Scott

David, this is a great post. My partner Cam Lanier and I developed a value system that has helped us tremendously along the way. One of the key tenets of this value system statement is:

“We display teamwork. Team members use terms like “we”, not “I”.

In employee orientations we always stressed this and encouraged people to use the terms “we”, “our” and “ours” instead of “I”, “my”, and “mine”.

One of the most glaring displays of this plays out each day on the news with our current President. Listen closely, ….. He almost invariably uses terms like “I” and “My” in many of his statements (“my administration”, “my staff”, etc) while he should be talking about “our country”, “our team”, “our administration”, etc. No wonder his team and the country are getting more and more disaffected. This has grated on me from day one of this administration.

Reply