UBER AND YOU - June 2017                     

As we all read in the news this morning, Travis Kalanick, founder and CEO of Uber has resigned (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/21/technology/uber-travis-kalanick-final-hours.html). The root cause was a culture of disrespect at Uber. Four months ago allegations of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, career sabotage, deception, and illegal threats of employment termination were published in a blog. Subsequent investigations have turned Uber upside down leading now to the resignation of its CEO.

 

The point here is that a toxic culture at a company is just that - TOXIC. The world today is too interconnected to keep such things a secret anymore. This might be a saving wake-up call for lots of people in companies whose culture supports similar behaviors with a wink and a grin. Why wait until your company gets turned upside down. If it happened at Uber, it can happen to your company too. Now is a good time to evaluate your own workplace. If you are in management, you are well-positioned to take action to assure respectful workplace behavior and a non-upside-down future.