Why talk about Uber? Because it is the God of our times and it is Devil of our times. Uber stands for everything that new business models in today's age mean. Swift, innovative, and built on challenging an established system. But there is an inherent risk in this model- it sacrifices everything for speed and in the process is prone to ignoring certain rules of business leading to its peril.
The stepping down of Uber's HR leader today is just one more link in a long chain of events that bring into sharp focus what can happen when a company grows too quickly and throws caution to the winds. Just because you provide a swanky office or free bagels every day, it does not eliminate the possibility of some of the traditional work place issues such as sexual harassment and racial discrimination. And when enough time is not spent to build internal processes to prevent these acts or deal with them when they happen- people will turn to the media for redress. Instead of playing out behind closed doors, the conflict moves to the media and is played out in national, and many a times international headlines. Ironically enough the media is plagued by the same symptoms and this just compounds the problem- everyone can now be a reporter and a tip becomes a reality even before it is substantiated.
So while we all love the innovation that today's technology and asset lite business models bring- it has created a very challenging situation- where the expectations of the employees and consumers continues to be the same as it has traditionally been, but these new companies such as Uber and Air B&B are still figuring out how to better anticipate and manage liabilities. Uber may think of themselves as a mere consolidator of available rides for hire but a passenger thinks of them as the company that owns the whole experience and is therefore accountable for it.
The stepping down of Uber's HR leader today is just one more link in a long chain of events that bring into sharp focus what can happen when a company grows too quickly and throws caution to the winds. Just because you provide a swanky office or free bagels every day, it does not eliminate the possibility of some of the traditional work place issues such as sexual harassment and racial discrimination. And when enough time is not spent to build internal processes to prevent these acts or deal with them when they happen- people will turn to the media for redress. Instead of playing out behind closed doors, the conflict moves to the media and is played out in national, and many a times international headlines. Ironically enough the media is plagued by the same symptoms and this just compounds the problem- everyone can now be a reporter and a tip becomes a reality even before it is substantiated.
So while we all love the innovation that today's technology and asset lite business models bring- it has created a very challenging situation- where the expectations of the employees and consumers continues to be the same as it has traditionally been, but these new companies such as Uber and Air B&B are still figuring out how to better anticipate and manage liabilities. Uber may think of themselves as a mere consolidator of available rides for hire but a passenger thinks of them as the company that owns the whole experience and is therefore accountable for it.
