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He might be a good guy, but he's running a company like a sociopath and breeding a toxic environment. A company's culture and reputation are a reflection of the
by mabbo 9y ago
He might be a good guy, but he's running a company like a sociopath and breeding a toxic environment. A company's culture and reputation are a reflection of the person or people at the top.
He either needs to legitimately fix the problems or stand aside and let a better leader do it.
Edit: For the record, I'd much prefer to see him do the former than the latter.
- tptacek 9y agoDo you say he's running Uber like a sociopath from personal experience, or are you working from the same thirdhand sources that all the rest of us are? If the latter, maybe there's a better, less strident way to make this point, if it needs to be made.
- r00fus 9y agoWhy does it take "personal experience" to make this call? The facts speak for themselves.
- tptacek 9y agoNo. You might say the facts speak clearly that Uber was mismanaged or even toxic --- I would lean towards agreeing with you, though my epistemic certitude is no doubt lower than yours. LOTS of people disagree with us. So it's a stretch to say the assertion is self-evident. But unless you know something we don't, you are nowhere close to calling Kalanick "sociopathic". Hence the question. We should all try to be more careful about how we talk about people.
- mabbo 9y agoI mean from what we see generally of the company. Uber has a killer product that solves many problems, yet they seem bent on doing things in ways I find unethical. The programs to hide from government officials; sending recruiters on Lyft trips to try to steal them; wasting Lyft drivers' time/money by sending false requests (accused on both sides, but nonetheless); pretty damning evidence of corporate espionage in regards to the Waymo lawsuit (still to be decided but it's not going well for them); yelling at the Uber driver in that youtube video. To be clear, the general meaning I'm using of sociopathy is the one of impaired empathy for others and lack of remorse, overinflated ego, etc. If this is what the man at the top is deciding is the right way to do business, that sets the tone for the company.
- dang 9y agoWe detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14539362 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14539362 and marked it off-topic.
- mabbo 9y agoFair enough. Keep keepin' this place awesome dang.
- RoyTyrell 9y agoIs he really a "good guy" if he runs a company like a sociopath and enables a toxic working environment?