The Dumbest Thing That I Do 2-13-26 - Becker Business

Becker Business – Episode Summary

Podcast: Becker Business
Host: Scott Becker
Episode: The Dumbest Thing That I Do (February 13, 2026)
Focus: A humorous and insightful reflection on self-awareness in business, with Scott Becker revealing his own “dumbest” habit—arguing with bots on Twitter.

Episode Overview

Scott Becker candidly shares the "dumbest thing" he does in his business and professional life: getting into arguments with bots on Twitter. Using this as an entry point, he reflects on the challenges of navigating social media as a leader and public figure, highlighting the importance of self-awareness and learning from one's own missteps.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Scott Becker’s Professional Life Balance (00:30)

Business Focus:
Scott outlines his life split: one side on building businesses, brand, and investing; the other on family, friends, and hobbies (sports, golf, tennis, fitness).
- "I spent a lot of time, of course, building businesses, building brand, focusing on essentially business and investing in one part of my life. Then the other part of the life would be family, friends, you know, sports, golf, tennis, fitness." (00:32)

The Twitter Trap: Arguing With Bots (00:52–02:10)

Online Engagement:
Scott discusses his habit of posting about investing and business stories on Twitter.
The “Stupidest” Thing:
He confesses that the “dumbest thing” he does is engaging in arguments with accounts on Twitter that, on inspection, are likely not real people but bots.
- “I will spend time and I'm not sure where he categorizes on Twitter, posting stuff about investing, posting stuff about business stories, whatever it might be. And then once in a while I'll post something and I'll get a response back and I'll start arguing with response, only to realize that the response is likely a bot, not a real person.” (00:52)
- He describes trying to reason, or snap back at, an account with only 3 or 10 followers, and the realization dawns that it’s not a person.
- “The stupidest thing that I do is getting into arguments with what I think ultimately are bots on Twitter.” (01:28)
Moment of Self-Realization:
Scott stresses how pointless it is and uses it as a public reflection on his own behavior.
- “I've come to the conclusion that the absolute dumbest thing that I do is arguing with bots on Twitter. This is the height of dumbness.” (01:46)
- Even his go-to comeback—telling the bot it’s not a real person—is “the stupidest thing” because, as he puts it: “The bot doesn't care that I’m arguing back to them that they're not a real person. It really is the height of stupidity.” (02:02)

Takeaway & Invitation for Listener Feedback (02:10–02:45)

Scott humorously acknowledges he’s sharing just the “dumbest thing I can talk about publicly” and encourages listeners to share feedback if they appreciate this more personal, self-deprecating content.
- “Thank you for listening to the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. We hope you enjoy this. If you enjoy this and listen all the way to the end, let me know if you like this kind of content as well as our typical business and real content.” (02:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Realizing You’re Arguing With a Bot:
“When you look behind the person, the person's got 10 followers or three followers and you realize you're probably arguing with a bot.” (01:14)
On Futility:
“This is the stupidest thing I could do because the bot doesn't care that I'm arguing back to them that they're not a real person.” (02:00)
On Habitual Online Engagement:
“The snappest comeback I'll have is to say to the bot, you're not even a real person.” (01:56)

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:30–00:50 – Introduction & Scott’s professional-personal balance
00:52–02:10 – Main story: Arguing with bots on Twitter
02:10–02:40 – Reflection, takeaways, and invitation for listener feedback

Summary Takeaways

Scott Becker uses humor and humility to confront his own bad business habit, revealing a common trap for any professional active online. His open candor makes the episode relatable, offering a lesson: recognize and laugh at your own foibles, especially when they cost you time and energy.

Listener Invitation: If you enjoy these lighter, more personal insights alongside business news, Scott invites your feedback at 773-766-5322.

Transcript

A (0:00)

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B (0:30)

This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. Today's discussion is the dumbest thing that I do. And again, this is a business and professional podcast. I spent a lot of time, of course, building businesses, building brand, focusing on essentially business and investing in one part of my life. Then the other part of the life would be family, friends, you know, sports, golf, tennis, fitness. But, but in the corporate I'm like business and investing. Sometimes in the business and investing part, I, I will spend time and I'm not sure where he categorizes on Twitter, posting stuff about investing, posting stuff about business stories, whatever it might be. And then once in a while I'll post something and I'll get a response back and I'll start arguing with response, only to realize that the response is likely a bottom, not a real person. So I would say, you know, everybody's got to decide what is the stupidest thing they do. And this is the stupidest thing I do that I could talk about publicly. Of course, the stupidest thing that I do is getting into arguments with what I think ultimately are bots on Twitter. And how do I know that they're bots? When you then go behind the screen and you, you often argue back at a bot when it says something nasty to you about something you post like, you know, I was asking for a Twitter poll and what I should name our new CFO podcast and you know, one of the people says back, nobody cares or something worse than that. And a couple, you get a couple of very crude responses. And then when you look behind the person, the person's got 10 followers or three followers and you realize you're probably arguing with a bot. So I've come to the conclusion that the absolute dumbest thing that I do is arguing with bots on Twitter. This is the height of dumbness. And actually to stop myself from continuing the dialogue with the bot, when I realize that I'm at actually arguing with somebody who's a non person, you know, and, and the snappest comeback I'll have is to say to the bot, you're not even a real person. And of course this is the stupidest thing I could do because the bot doesn't care that I'm arguing back to them that they're not a real person. It really is the height of stupidity. That's the stupidest thing I'm doing recently. Thank you for listening to the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. We hope you enjoy this. If you enjoy this and listen all the way to the end, let me know if you like this kind of content as well as our typical business and real content. 773-766-5322 thank you for listening to the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast.