I have a flashes of a specific memory from a long forgotten yearly sales kick-off meeting circa 2014. There were roughly 1000 of us at this kick-off, and I probably knew hundreds of the people personally. If you’ve never been in a large sales team, these are huge events that corporate America spends large sums of money on. They educate and entertain the sales force. You’ watch motivational speakers like Simon Sinek or John Foley (glad to be here!!!). The stuff works, it gets the sales team jazzed and juiced up. They get drunk and party like a frat, they stay up late, they talk, the they bond, some of them even get excited about crypto (not me), but most importantly, they believe in themselves. And, that helps sell stuff. It’s a tough job.
Well, one night at a long-forgotten SKO, after an intense day meetings, the team was letting loose. We had been drinking and talking shop for hours, easing the pressure from long, intense days and the pressure of next year’s number (how much revenue you have to bring into the company).
Suddenly, the mood shifted.
I watched a few of the smartest, most driven guys—the Eagles as we say in sales—peel off from the main group. They weren’t heading for the bar or the bathroom; they were moving somewhere else, I didn’t know where. One of them, a wonderful guy named Mike Wagner, caught my eye, gave a subtle, terse nod, and signaled, “Come with us, you’re in.”
I followed. About 5 or 6 of us arrived in a smaller room, with a bit of privacy. The energy was instantly different. We still smiled, joked, and laughed, but there was an air of seriousness and respect among everyone in that room. Mike started talking about a gap in the market and how we needed to form a startup to tackle it. The conversation was wildly interesting, a lightning strike of adrenaline, ambition, and risk. I felt honored to invited into that room.
I’ve also witnessed this behavior in many other groups of people, ones I wasn’t part of. If you pay attention in any random coffee shop, breakfast at a hotel, or local lunch spot, you might notice sales teams preparing for the day. They could be from Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, or even Sysco, the national food distributor for restaurants. They might sell networking gear, industrial equipment, or sand, gravel, or chemicals. It’s all similar.
A specific example comes to mind when I bumped into two buddies of mine, Robert Mattler and Tom Meadows. I knew they were working on some start-up idea, but I didn’t know a lot of details. I saw them across the room at a restaurant or coffee shop. I said hello, but bailed fairly quickly. I could tell that they had that recognizable intensity—the seriousness on their faces, the absolute focus—and I knew, instinctively, not want interrupt them and knock them out of the flow state. They were having a high-stakes conversation before “the hunt”, and I recognized the signs of an ancient, powerful social ritual.
This isn’t regular primate bonding, it’s not just networking or brainstorming. It’s the Pre-Hunt Gathering.
The Academic Framework: Primal Huddles and Survival
My gut instinct that night was right. What happens in those small, charged, pre-venture huddles isn’t modern happenstance; it’s a manifestation of a primal social structure essential for survival that has been documented in anthropology for centuries.
In traditional societies, particularly those dependent on hunting large, dangerous game, the Pre-Hunt Gathering had a dual purpose:
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Logistics: Mapping the strategy, assessing the animal’s migration path, dividing roles (driver, flanker, killer), and establishing the target.
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Ritual: Building collective focus, purifying the mind, appealing to spirits for permission, and solidifying the commitment necessary for shared success.
The entire ritual was designed to generate maximum social cohesion before maximum risk. This concept of social cohesion has a powerful name from the 14th century: ‘Aṣabīyah.
The Core Force: ‘Aṣabīyah
Ibn Khaldūn, the North African historian and sociologist, coined the term ‘Aṣabīyah (often translated as “social cohesion” or “group feeling”). He argued it was the fundamental force driving history and state formation. It represents the ability of a group’s members to place the collective need above the individual need—the essential glue for group survival.
The early stage of any startup mirrors the Nomadic Tribe phase in Khaldūn’s theory. High risk (scarcity of funds, threat of failure, long hours) breeds the strongest ‘Aṣabīyah. That intense loyalty and shared sacrifice is necessary to “conquer” the established market players—the corporate giants who represent the safe, “Sedentary/Urban” phase. Without that intense cohesion, the new venture falls apart under pressure.
The Primal Vetting: The Power of ‘Bad Vibes’
The most fascinating part of this primal dynamic is the vetting process. A few years after that QBR, the same core person and I seriously evaluated launching a company. We had the strategy, the market, and the ambition. We just needed a third business partner.
We spent weeks engaging with a promising candidate. On paper, they were perfect. Yet, both my partner and I felt a collective aversion—a sense of “bad vibes.” We knew exactly why. We saw the way he interacted with a waiter at an Indian restaurant we were at during one of our pre-hunt gatherings. We were intense, serious, and discussing things deeply. But, he turned that intensity on the waiter and was completely rude. While the third business partner was engaged in this, we glanced at each other with knowing looks.
This decision wasn’t rational; it was primal.
The evaluation wasn’t about skills, resume, or funding; it was about an instinctive, primal read of their loyalty and commitment to the group. In a hunting party, an unreliable member risks the lives of the entire group. They might fail to hold their position or spook the game, compromising the survival of the tribe.
That “bad vibe” was our deep-seated social intelligence system—our oldest risk management tool—vetoing a threat to our ‘Aṣabīyah. We instinctively chose to preserve the absolute integrity of our small tribe over pursuing the opportunity with a questionable element. The success of the “hunt” always depends on the strength of the bond.
Conclusion: Applying the Huddle
These high-stakes moments prove that human teams, whether chasing a gazelle or a Series A funding round, rely on the same fundamental principles: shared risk demands maximum cohesion.
If you are building a team, a company, or leading a sales team, recognize and respect the power of the pre-hunt gathering:
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Prioritize ‘Aṣabīyah: When making core hires or selecting co-founders, prioritize absolute, unquestioning trust and a willingness for shared sacrifice over skills alone. Hire for cohesion first.
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Respect the Ritual: Encourage and protect the need for small, intense gatherings—the huddles—that allow team members to leave the large group, share vulnerability, and re-establish focus before major “hunts” (pitches, product launches, QBRs).
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Trust the Vibe: If your core team feels a collective, instinctive aversion to a potential partner, listen to the primal voice. The strength of your venture depends not on its technology or funding, but on the unwavering strength of the bond holding the group together.