Why it pays to be a chameleon

What’s a chameleon?
It’s a species of lizard primarily known for its ability to change colour. They do this to divert predators. A sort of camouflage. Additionally colour change is also used as an expression of the physiological condition of the lizard, and as a social indicator to other chameleons.

What’s a business chameleon?
A person, in this context an entrepreneur, who doesn’t want to draw undue attention to themselves. They don’t want to stand out too much. Or better put, they want to fit in. Whether or not this is a sensible tactic is largely a function of the circumstances and the personalities involved.

The focus here at GoBeyond is the human psychology during your first meeting with a potential investor. This includes chameleon-like behaviour. There are, in this context, basically two types of behaviour that entrepreneurs exhibit in this situation.

• Those that want to fit in at all costs. We’ll call this ‘white’.
• Those that aren’t particularly interested in fitting in at all. We’ll call this ‘black’.

The justification for choosing either of these extreme stances is beyond the scope of this article. Our advice is to steer a mid path. In chameleon terminology, adopt the protective colouration of the other people in the meeting.

The benefits of acting grey
Thus adopting the colour options above, reject both black and white and strive to be perceived as grey. However, there are innumerable shades of grey. So which shade do you select?

Be like the chameleon by trying to adopt the ‘colour’ of the situation. For example, try (without obvious mimicking) to adopt the verbal mannerisms and non-verbal attitudes of the potential investor. This means, in part, being an actor.

In contrast . . .
You’ve probably met or at least read about mavericks who make no attempt to try and fit in. In social situations, this can be infuriating. In business meetings though, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, although it has to be kept in moderation. A darker shade of grey if you like.

It’s a fine line between being utterly confident and being offensively arrogant. Entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of reading too much into the advice that says 'always be confident', 'make eye contact', 'dominate the room' and so on. In proportion all three of those pieces of advice are sound. But don’t over do it. The skill is – once again – to be ‘grey’. The correct shade of grey.

Varying grey – okay?
That shade, which may well shift in depth and richness could well alter during the course of a meeting. That’s no bad thing. However, there is a type of entrepreneur that some describe as the leopard-entrepreneur. They find this greyness ‘thing’ very hard to contemplate. They aren’t described as leopard-entrepreneurs because of their fighting prowess, confidence, strength or speed or that they run about on four legs and have big paws. They are described as such because of their inability to change their spots!

Now here’s the deeper meaning
As to why leopards in particular are singled out for this escapes us. Anyway, within it’s own territory or environment if you prefer, their spots are an ideal camouflage. Outside of their preferred territory though, the reverse is true. Meanwhile the chameleon can adjust it’s camouflage to not stand out. In business terms, the analogy is this. The leopard-entrepreneur may indeed be entirely in their element when in discussion with one narrow type of potential investor. But not all types of potential investors. The probability is that a potential investor receptive to the blitzkrieg of confidence from the leopard-entrepreneur is only a tiny percentage of all potential investors!

And another thing while we’re on the topic
The leopard-entrepreneur is very rarely interested in what anyone else thinks. Moreover despite their raging confidence they are rarely good actors. Thus they are incapable of hiding their indifference towards the potential investor. To them, the potential investor is their audience. Consequently many potential investors who would have been ideal companions are turned away.

Moral One
When mentoring formerly leopard-entrepreneurs who have turned to me for guidance after numerous rejections, asking for help, I’ve made the following observations:

• Intellectually in their field, they were right to be so confident
• Yes, the potential investor did miss an opportunity, and so on
• However, their intolerable attitude deflected the best intentions of the potential investor.

Moral Two
The chameleon-entrepreneur raises fewer barriers to success – from the moment the dialogue begins – compared to the leopard-entrepreneur. Thus …

• The potential investor has a near infinite source of entrepreneur opportunities. The reverse is true for you.
• The entrepreneur-chameleon fits in immediately
• There’s a rapport established instantly.

Epilogue
I’m often asked the same question during mentoring re the above. It goes along the lines of this. Can it really be that the person with the clearly better idea loses out to the person with the inferior idea? There are two answers.

• If the potential investor is an angel investor then invariably 'yes'.
• If the potential investor is a venture-capital organisation, the answer is 'not nearly as frequently'.

If you want to talk to the author then please phone Howard Popeck on 07870 192618

Link
To Gobetween Ltd