Are you Working for a Tech Company or a Cult?
Can you Tell the Difference between a Cult and a Startup?
At 19, I was introduced to the Unification Christian Group by one of my swim teammates. He is the second generation of the religious group.
This Christian group was created in South Korea by Sun Myung Moon. The group advocates similar teachings to Christianity but with some updates. Sun Myung Moon was the son of God that Jesus promised the world on his return 2000 years ago.
They have their own bible. It is written by Sun Myung Moon.
One unique thing about this religion is its arranged marriage system. The founder of the Christian Group Sun Moon pairs couples from all over the world, on seven different continents, and has them married in South Korea simultaneously in a huge ceremony.
They even held the Guinness book record, which shows that most couples get married in the same place at once.
What's the reason for the arranged mixed-race marriage?
The reason was to bridge the gap between racial disparity. If I can't identify which race you were from because you were born with a mixed race, there will be less racial disparity in our future generation. There won't be a race where that is pure; instead, our future generation will be a mixed race.
The idea is appealing, and the central message is surrounded by love. I even joined their exclusive summer camps, which were only held for the second generation of the Christian Unified Groups. I was one of the only people in the entire camp who was not from the second generation. It was an eye-opening experience that proliferated my belief in the teaching of Sun Myung Moon.
I was inclined to join the group before my parents pulled me aside and gave me awareness and advice that this is a different imagination and story from Christianity and that this is just like any other religion. They told me to rethink my decisions before taking any words and be cautious in the preliminary stages.
In other words, they said that it is a cult.
Fast-forward now, and my history resembles that of when I joined a startup a few years ago. My gut feeling in our Slack channels is that I have gotten into a religious group instead of making products for users.
Except for this time, not just this startup but any other startup that I was about to join has similar tenets.
This time, they are no precautioun from my parents.
In fact, It is widely accepted and celebrated.
When I discussed it with people outside of tech, they often returned and reminded me that I had been "drinking the Kool-Aid."
Just as religious cults tantalize, "We are in this mission together" and "Are you in or are you out?" Startup companies also exercise a degree of control over employees' similar behavior.
Do you know if you have subconsciously joined a cult?
What is a Sign of a Cult?
According to Margaret Thaler Singer, a prominent psychologist who studied world expert on brainwashing and wrote an amazing book "Cults our Midst Continuing Against Their Hidden Menace," here are a couple of things that I distilled about the characteristics of a Cult:
Submission
When everyone in that group has a nearly unquestioned trust bestowed on its leadership.
If you have any doubt about the teachings or values, you are viewed as the odd ones out and will be subject to any repercussions.
Those who submit to leadership will be rewarded with additional responsibilities or roles, increasing their importance within that group.
This sort of system creates positive reinforcement that encourages every member to think the group is the true belief system.
Employees and followers of Theranos, a blood testing startup in Silicon Valley, need to be highly submissive to the founder, Elizabeth Holmes, and have authority over them. They also need to be fully on board with the mission despite numerous internal and external suspicions about the technology and business practices.
Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, had a cult-like following due to his charismatic leadership style. Jobs entrenched Apple's culture with a strong commitment to the company. According to Jobs' vision, each employee needs to be deeply invested in the ideology of innovation and design perfection.
Exclusivity
Once they have created a submission culture, they encourage people to think of themselves as elite and enhance their involvement in the group.
A lot of the Silicon Valley Startup Culture gives a notion of being part of something groundbreaking and transformative, along with a sense of superiority over traditional industries and norms.
Elizabeth Holmes did it by maintaining an aura of exclusivity through business practices and emphasizing the promise of revolutionary medical technology that can change the world.
The crypto culture believes that the financial system is corrupted and that decentralizing it promises to transform it into a better system for the world.
Some companies make you think you are "lucky" to be “chosen.” This usually comes with unique behavior questions that make it hard for someone to get into the company.
The college Greek Fraternity lifestyle operates in exclusivity. With a vast network and access to the best of the best parties, it creates a memorable experience for your college journey.
Elon Musk carries an aura of exclusivity from his bold claim on the potential impact on humanity's future. If you look at the SpaceX mission, it was "Mars & Beyond - the road to making humanity multi-planetary.”
Not many people are able to achieve this mission, and it would be very prestigious and exclusive if you were one of the few who made it happen.
This creates the "us against them" mentality, which helps unify the group and reinforces the mission against distinct thoughts or influences.
This exclusivity brings us to the next point, which creates a sturdy backbone for a cult system.
Control
Keep members unaware of what is happening and how they are being changed a step at a time.
New members are led through a behavioral change program without being aware of the group's group's agenda or full content.
If it is hard to get into the belief system, you will more likely cherish them. This phenomenon is called effort justification.
They know that if someone invests significant effort, time, or resources into gaining access to the system, membership, or a group, they value it more highly and justify the investment, even if the intrinsic value of the outcome is not proportionate to the effort expended.
All college students who want to join the Greek Fraternity must go through a process called pledging. This process tests newcomers to see if they are "suitable" for the group and could involve various physical exercises and drinking exercises.
Once they pass the pledge period, they can access the vast network of that group that exists throughout the United States.
This process is a perfect case study for exclusivity in a cult-like environment. I noticed that each pledge class became really close to each other because they all had to make extraordinary efforts by devoting a significant amount of time outside regular school hours to be part of this group.
In addition, they also enforce the concept of "If you leave the group, you will incur deep loss (from love, financial opportunity, respect from the other community)." This leads you to feel the danger of losing your affiliation.
What are the signs of a Cult-Like Tech Company?
I remember joining a tech startup before and noticing that everyone in the company wholeheartedly agrees with the CEO.
I was like,
"I don't know if what he is saying will help in our operation; it seems very counterintuitive."
One or two people will question the belief, but everyone in the company will start to look at them with bemusing eyes and frown, thinking, "Are you out of your mind? We tried everything, and this is what is obvious."
Over-Emphasize How Unique The Culture Is
Amazon is known for its 14 leadership principles, which are like a bible to abide by. All promotions and the chances of PIP (performance improvement plan) are followed rigorously based on these 14 principles.
Tesla emphasizes a work culture of intense work ethic, often working long hours and dedication across Tesla.
Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund firm known by the infamous Ray Dalio, has a unique corporate culture. Ray Dalio documented his philosophy for work and life as the "Principle."" He published the book Principles: Life and Work. One unique thing about their culture is that the idea of corporate responsibility is enforced throughout the system.
Culture is the cornerstone to a company’s success. It is good to have a strong culture to align and motivate all employees to achieve its mission.
When the company overemphasize how "unique" the culture are and even have an interview to ensure that you are suitable to be a part of our team, that is a subtle indication of a cult-like system.
I was once in a company that talked a lot about how unique their "values" were, how different those values made them from other companies, and how important their mission was to society in general.
Although these leaders don't set themselves up as mythical figures, everyone in the company looks up to them like one.
As I stayed longer and longer, I started to feel that the job was important and that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, my life would be worse if I left it.
It is Uniformly Positive News in All Hands (Even after Layoff)
When everyone is happy with the results, it is enough to make someone unhappy or even just questioning the status quo feel absolutely insane.
There was a layoff in one of the previous companies where I worked.
The CEO wanted to hold an all-hands meeting to update the news.
First and foremost, the CEO disregards all the layoffs but emphasizes the company's future outcome. And on its all-hands, there isn't transparency regarding what we did wrong but instead what we did right.
I looked around the Slack thread and at my peers. Everyone didn't say a single word or even ask if our company was doing okay. They all had smiley faces, looked at the CEO, discussed the future vision, and explained how the company's mission helps us disrupt the industry.
I don't know if they put a smile on their faces because they are afraid the leadership will fire them if they question the status quo or because they are fully brainwashed by the fact that nothing matters except the company's mission.
I was silently laughing, crying, and confused.
Am I the one who is crazy? If everyone else is happy, why do I feel something else inside? Why is no one discussing the recent layoff? Why don't they apologize for overhiring or making wrong predictions about the company's overall mission strategy?
If you see such scenarios during all-hands or public communication, where everyone is uniformly positive and excited about how well things are doing, let me tell you that you are not crazy.
If you feel that the vibe is off or that something is too good to be true, it is usually too good to be true.
You Doubt Your Self-Worth
You fear losing your job because they have convinced you you won't find this prestigious elsewhere.
Sometimes, they convince you you'd have difficulty finding a job if you left the company.
The company usually spends a lot of time and resources blurring the line between co-workers and friendship. Then, they announce constant propaganda about company values and share or fire workers who didn't follow the rules.
You probably knew that the company wasn't that important and that your job was just a job. However, subconsciously, you started aligning your personal values and mission to the company's mission because they conditioned you to blur your personal life with your professional life.
These companies sometimes attract cult-like employees who are extremely qualified people, and you will always need to compete with those people to ensure that you are not the one who will be laid off.
Is it bad to join a Cult-like tech company?
It depends.
One of the biggest cults of the century, Christianity, is heavily followed by millions of people around the world.
Would you say that being Christian is a bad thing?
The same goes for companies; some of the best-performing companies in the world have cult-like leaders who have been more deeply involved in their cause than you can imagine.
On the How to Take Over the World Podcast, Walter Isaacson mentioned that Steve Jobs has the power to create reality distortion fields. These fields bend reality and force you and others to set the world differently.
In developing the Macintosh computer, Jobs pushed his team to create a boot-up time for the Mac that was significantly faster than what was technically considered feasible. An engineer told Jobs that making the Mac boot up any faster was impossible. Jobs challenged him with his intense conviction, saying, "If it could save a person's person, you find a way to shave 10 seconds off the boot time?" The engineer returned to work and reduced the boot time as Jobs wanted.
It becomes bad if it causes the bulk of your mental health issues.
It becomes worse if you feel agonized over leaving that job. You spent a weekend spiraling, thinking of schemes to stay in. You were convinced that you couldn't stay at a job that was making you miserable, that did not align with my values, at a company where I had no long-term career goals. A cult tech company can make you forget this.
The most important part is awareness.
The worst thing is oblivious to what you get yourself into.
It doesn't matter how often leadership talks about how unique they are. A company is not a democratic society like a nation. If you criticize the leadership enough, you will eventually be told to shut up or being "cancel."
Obliviousness will lead to burnout because you think you can improve the company but aren't empathic about doing so.
As long as you know that you are aware that the Kool-Aid is not a Kool-Aid flavored cyanide.
Last but not least, remember that there is life outside of work and that you are not just some cog in the machine that follows instructions. You are a unique individual with feelings.
Therefore, don't waste all that precious energy and feelings on a company if they will never love you back.
Note: I want to clarify that none of the companies or religious groups mentioned in this article are emblematic of being dangerous or bad. I maintain close relationships with my friends in the Unified Church, and some of the cultural practices at the tech company I referred to are revolutionary. The purpose of this article is to encourage you to think critically about the biases and affiliations you have chosen to pursue or are currently associated with.
That's it for the week. Have you encountered a similar culture in a startup or company? Please comment below to share it with the group.