Uber is one of the biggest success stories in business and IT service history. Ten years ago, Uber didn’t exist. But now, everyone uses Uber. Then this should be happy days for Uber, right? However, not so much. In fact, Uber investors want Travis Kalanick to resign. Kalanick agreed. Uber CEO resigns: What lies ahead?
I highly doubt Travis Kalanick chose to resign. But an investigation, led by former US Attourney Eric Holder, shows disturbing things going in the Uber office. They include bullying, sexual harassment, and ruthless aggressive leadership. For example, one woman accused Uber of constant sexual harassment.
Then they called for deeper looks into Uber’s work culture. Kalanick agreed. During that time, he agreed to step down for a lengthy period of time. Then, a boating accident killed his mother and severely injured his father. So obviously, Kalanick needed more time. This time, to grieve the death of his mother and care for his father. In addition to that, he wanted to continue to work on his leadership talents. Then the Uber CEO resigns. Despite the controversy Kalanick faces, many praise his leadership. For example, one man tweeted very few people will have the impact Kalanick already has.
He’s right. Within a few years, Kalanick’s Uber went from being unknown to being worth over $68 billion. But it goes to show if your work culture is bad, it will come back to haunt the CEO. However, before I go any further, I give my sympathy and condolences to Travis and the rest of the Kalanick family. A death and severe injury in the family takes an emotional toll on anybody. How can I not have a heart for that? Despite any investigation, you can’t argue with the bottom line. Uber is one of the greatest tech stories of our generation. I’m not excusing any misconduct that allegedly happened in the Uber office. If it’s true, than it’s something that they need to work on. So does the Uber CEO resigns story teach us anything about how we should maintain a positive work culture?