What is the biggest mistake you personally made at WeWork and what lesson does it carry?
Founder & CEO at WeWork
In WeWork the business grew faster than I could grow. That is where everything went wrong. Whenever a company grows faster than its founder one of two things will occur. Either it will crash or if somehow the founder holds it together they are not fulfilled and if they are not fulfilled why do it? My specific mistake was losing myself in the moment after the SoftBank deal. I forgot the mission. I became blinded by the valuation. And in a top-led company the moment the founder loses it everybody loses it. The lesson is you cannot grow a business faster than you can grow as a human being. Know yourself first. Then go fast.
This answer is part of a full interview with Adam Neumann, Founder & CEO at WeWork.
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