Jordan Belfort and the Two Edges of Persuasion
This one comes with an asterisk. Jordan Belfort, the “Wolf of Wall Street”, is famous for two reasons: he’s one of the most gifted salespeople alive, and he went to prison for using that gift to defraud people. Meeting him was fascinating precisely because he’s both.
I’m not in the business of glamorizing what he did. But I am in the business of learning, and Belfort’s story makes a point I think every owner should sit with.
A skill is only as good as the person using it
Belfort can teach persuasion better than almost anyone. The exact same skill (understanding what someone needs, building trust, guiding a decision) can be used to genuinely help a customer or to fleece them. The technique is identical. The intent is everything.
That hit home for me because our entire industry runs on trust. As your IT company, we have the keys to your whole business: your data, your email, your passwords, your money’s worth of systems. The skills that let us protect you are the same skills a bad actor would use to hurt you. The difference isn’t capability. It’s character.
How we keep ourselves on the right side of it
- Plain-language honesty: we tell you what you need, not what’s most profitable to sell you.
- No fear-based pressure: security is serious, but we won’t scare you into bad decisions.
- Transparency: you should always understand what we’re doing and why.
Belfort’s cautionary tale is a good reminder of why we built Braintek around “say it straight” and “find the right yes.” Powerful tools in the wrong hands are a liability, which is exactly why who you hand the keys to matters.
If you want an IT partner you can actually trust with the keys, book a free discovery call or call us in Houston at 281-367-8253, and read about what we stand for.