A recent Wall Street Journal headline declared that that’s the case:

“This is Silicon Valley’s superiority complex, and it sure is an ugly thing to behold. As the tech industry has shaken off the memories of the last dot-com bust, its luminaries have become increasingly confident about their capacity to shape the future. And now they seem to have lost all humility about their place in the world.”

We can’t speak for everyone in Silicon Valley, but our perspective in working across the Valley’s ecosystem – startups, venture capitalists, developers, corporate heavyweights, etc. – paints a different picture.

There is a subtle but important difference between strength of conviction and arrogance. Against all odds, including lack of funding and the loss of any semblance of a balanced life, entrepreneurs relentlessly pursue their ideas. In the process, they make our lives better, more efficient, or at least more fun.

Take, for example, Fremont-based Leyden Energy. Far from scoffing at America’s manufacturing past, CEO Rick Wilmer has been working closely with Detroit to find better solutions to conserve battery life for gas-powered engines. Leyden’s lithium batteries can power-start/stop mechanisms, thereby extending time between oil changes.

My experience working with Joint Venture Silicon Valley provides yet more fodder. My fellow board members from private industry aren’t laughing their way to the bank. They are spending their precious spare time confronting the issues that face Silicon Valley whether in the form of education gaps, sea level rise, or wireless infrastructure.

We acknowledge that Fremont’s unique position in Silicon Valley gives us a different view. As an advancedmanufacturing hub, we are more about solar panels than social media. Our companies compete because they are “lean and mean.” And our CEOs appreciate Fremont’s manufacturing roots and talent pool, which is displayed on the Tesla factory floor where former NUMMI “line” workers are now interacting with robots.

The Journal article concludes with the comment:

“Or, tech leaders can adopt an oppositional tone: If you don’t recognize our superiority and the rightness of our ways, we’ll take our ball and go home.”

Really?

True arrogance prevents collaboration. Yet collaboration is the currency of Silicon Valley that makes things happen. We don’t see this changing given how entrenched it is in the Valley’s DNA.