'This Is Not the Way Everybody Behaves.' How Adam Neumann's Over-the-Top Style Built WeWork.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Kevin M. Kruse Retweeted

Arrested Development, in hindsight, was too subtle

Link to tweet

After firing hundreds of staff, the WeWork CEO held a somber all-hands meeting explaining why it was a necessary move, but then trays of tequila were handed out and DMC from Run-DMC burst into the room and performed "It's Tricky" https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-is-not-the-way-everybody-behaves-how-adam-neumanns-over-the-top-style-built-wework-11568823827?shareToken=st3fcd4c5c55d94ffc80b5721a8aa6ffa2 …

Link to tweet

BUSINESS
‘This Is Not the Way Everybody Behaves.’ How Adam Neumann’s Over-the-Top Style Built WeWork.
The skills that helped fuel We Co.’s breakneck growth are piling up as potential liabilities as the company prepares to go public

By Eliot Brown

https://twitter.com/eliotwb
[e-mail]

Sept. 18, 2019 12:23 pm ET
....

He has created a distinct culture in his mold. T-shirts and signs sport slogans such as “hustle harder” and “Thank God it’s Monday.” Employees are often big company boosters, creating a work-hard, play-hard office, with a millennial hipster vibe.

Alcohol has been a big part of the culture, particularly in We’s first half-decade. Mr. Neumann has told people he likes how it brings people together, and tequila, his favorite, flows freely. Executive retreats sport numerous cases of Don Julio 1942, with a retail price of more than $110 a bottle, and pours sometimes start in the morning.

A few weeks after Mr. Neumann fired 7% of the staff in 2016, he somberly addressed the issue at an evening all-hands meeting at headquarters, telling attendees the move was tough but necessary to cut costs, and the company would be better because of it.

Then employees carrying trays of plastic shot glasses filled with tequila came into the room, followed by toasts and drinks.

Soon after, Darryl McDaniels of hip-hop group Run-DMC entered the room, embraced Mr. Neumann and played a set for the staff. Workers danced to the 1980s hit “It’s Tricky” as the tequila trays made more rounds; some others, still focused on the firings, say they were stunned and confused.
....

—Maureen Farrell contributed to this article.

Write to Eliot Brown at [e-mail]

[Karadeniz]

1. Not my cuppa tea.