Arrogant opinions are a silent killer.
They don’t yell.
They whisper.
They dominate meetings.
They stop others from speaking.
They create false certainty and slow-moving chaos.
Multifamily isn’t short on smart people.
But being smart without humility is a death nail.
The biggest threat to your culture is arrogance, which is assumed to be expertise.
Arrogance shames disagreement and forces consensus.
Arrogance kills innovation by pretending to know more than the customer.
It replaces “what if” with “obviously.”
It puts ego over inquiry.
You’ll know arrogance is in the room when new ideas die fast.
When no one asks questions.
When people talk more about who’s right than what’s possible.
Culture can’t thrive under the weight of egos.
When you allow arrogance to speak for your company, your most observant team members stop speaking.
They shrink.
They check out.
You lose your sharpest thinkers and your boldest builders.
In a business where curiosity should be your sharpest edge, arrogance dulls the blade.
Leaders must create an expectation: strong opinions, loosely held.
Invite debate.
Reward dissent.
Teach people to challenge ideas, not each other.
Then live that value in every interaction.
Create space for quieter voices.
Pay attention to how decisions are made, not just what decisions are made.
And be brutal about one thing: arrogance must go.
There’s no room for it.
Not in strategy.
Not in service.
Not in culture.
Not anywhere.
Because if you don’t actively drive arrogant opinions out, they will take root.
And when they do, they don’t just hurt the company.
They become the company.
“Arrogant opinions don’t just speak for your brand—they become your brand.” – Mike Brewer