There is a certain type of leader who, I will admit, drives me crazy.
They are what we might charitably call the “excitable visionary.” You have probably met one: To them, every quarter is going to be gangbusters. They’re going to do $10M in revenue—bet on it (even though they did just a fraction of that last quarter). The new release is going to change everything! And ultimately, the company is going to take over the world!
No matter the actual state of the company, this leader presents a grandiose picture. They are usually an Influence type in the DISC Model—known for their people orientation, optimism, and ambition.
Often, the excitable visionary doesn’t truly mean what they are saying. They just have a habit of wrapping their vision in a layer of hyperbole. They want to get everyone else just as excited as they are.
We CEOs are trusted with owning the vision of the company and rallying people around it. But we must continuously guard against getting too carried away like this. If you’re a hardcore Influence type, it’s wise to tone down your natural expressiveness, surround yourself with a few strong Eeyore types (like me!), and judiciously check your stated promises against reality.
Which brings me to today’s Crash Report.
WeWork, which filed for bankruptcy last week, is a true cautionary tale for the excitable visionary CEO.
There were red flags from the start, not only in the business model but in CEO and cofounder Adam Neumann. Neumann was flamboyant, hailed by the business press as the next Steve Jobs (when has that ever worked out?), and prone to expand WeWork’s mission to absurd levels.
“The company aims to encompass all aspects of people’s lives, in both physical and digital worlds,” he said early on. That included not just where people worked but where they lived and where they were educated. The company’s mission? “To elevate the world's consciousness.” He spoke of creating a WeWork on Mars.
Of course, Neumann, who stepped down as CEO in 2019, wasn’t able to bring any of this to fruition. Despite attracting some of the largest VC investments in human history, WeWork didn’t develop far beyond renting out shared office space in a scheme that never quite made sense to anyone familiar with real estate.
Today’s Crash Report looks at some of the instructive elements of WeWork’s downfall. It’s always sad when a company fails, but let’s take note of what we might be able to learn.
Have a great Thanksgiving and see you in the next edition.
—Joel
PS: If you haven’t watched WeCrashed on Apple TV+, I highly recommend it.
Crash Report - WeWork
Why didn’t WeWork work? And what does it mean for you?
READ TIME: 4.5 minutes