Fortune Staff

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 68th running of the list.

Fortune 500

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legacy

WeWork

wework

Emma Hinchliffe

Paige McGlauflin

Was the Wing worth saving? The controversial women’s coworking chain shuts down for good

/2022/09/01/the-wing-controversial-women-coworking-spac-shuts-down-for-good/

Adam Neumann’s $350 million comeback is a ‘slap in the face’ to female founders and founders of color

/2022/08/18/adam-neumann-andreessen-horowitz-350-million-flow-funding-comeback-female-founders-of-color/

Alexei Oreskovic

Adam Neumann is the ultimate case study in ‘failing up’

/2022/08/16/wework-adam-neumann-new-startup-flow-andreessen-horowitz-investment/

Jane Thier

As the office goes extinct, the WeWork era rises again

/2022/08/05/wework-era-coworking-spaces-revived-hybrid-work/

[MUSIC PLAYING] ANDREW NUSCA: You've got a lot of customers, a lot of different kinds of customers. Could you talk about that a little bit? And try, again, let's try to ground this a little bit. Why do people come to you? ADAM NEUMANN: So we like to call them members, not customers. So if you're to-- you can be any one of the above. If you're starting a business, you're one person. You're by yourself. ANDREW NUSCA: Sure. ADAM NEUMANN: It's a hard thing to do. Anybody here who's started a business knows it's very difficult. First thing you need to-- what is my business? Who is funding me? Where am I getting my sales? Who is going to work with me? There are 1,000 questions you need to ask. You come into WeWork. You take a space for $600 a month, and you're already part of a community. You have at least 1,000 other people around you that are ready to help. And because you're all part of the same thing, they're actually excited to do-- to be that. And that's on the smallest level. On the largest level, you might be Salesforce. You might be Facebook. You might be Dell. And you have HQs, headquarters all over the world. You have satellite offices all over the world. And you need these-- you need a solution that's better than just the old way that people used to do it when they build a global business. They might need us also. ANDREW NUSCA: They're coming to you for culture, do you think? Facebook, for example, very kind of well-known culture. We talked about-- I talked with Diane Greene earlier about Google's culture. They come to you because they want different culture, better culture? ADAM NEUMANN: Corporate America in general has a cultural challenge today. And you know it if you just need a churn of employees that are younger than 30. If you just saw all the different things that are happening in the different organizations, you would know that culture America-- culture today in corporate America is a very big deal. Do we give you the culture? We can't, because if you don't have a mission-driven business, we can create a mission for you. But if you have a mission-driven business, then we can help talk about it. We can help make sure that it's communicated, not just through your words and not just to your investors, but also, how does your space feel? What is it all about? Are you part of something greater than yourself? And that, we can help large or small companies with. ANDREW NUSCA: And I felt that. So I visited you folks in one of your New York offices. The culture of WeWork is pretty-- the kind of culture that WeWork has on display is pretty well known. You've got beer taps. You've got fancy offices. You've got small, individual desks. You've got walled-off glass desks. There's a lot of diversity in what you're offering these companies. Why wouldn't they just copy all of the aesthetics? Why wouldn't they install a beer tap in their hallway and put all-glass offices-- it's so in vogue, right? Yeah, let's open office the heck out of our company. REBEKAH NEUMANN: So I think the one thing is you're focusing a little bit on the physical, which is also very important. And a lot of time has been put into that. Our co-founder, Miguel McKelvey, who's a brilliant designer and architect, has helped really kind of mastermind what our spaces look like. But I think you have to take it back a few steps. Adam grew up on a kibbutz, Miguel in a commune with only moms. All the dads took off. And I grew up in New York-- it's not as exciting-- but kind of studying spirituality, Buddhism, yoga, what have you, my entire life. And it's the cross-section of our backgrounds and our interests that I think have kind of led to the ethos and mission of this company. And I think when members come in, they might be looking for free beer or coffee or an office or someone to collaborate with. But once they spend some time, they actually see that there's another energy that's happening there, which is leading to another level of fulfillment and success. And being able to lean on other people who will support you, and who are rooting for you, and who are working all hours of the night, and who understand what it is to wear multiple hats and do multiple things and have many trades, I think that's creating something really meaningful for them. [MUSIC PLAYING]

Insights: WeWork Founders: Community is Our Business

WeWork Founders: Community is Our Business

Uncategorized

Cofounders stress the uniqueness of the culture. 

Cofounders Rebekah Neumann and Adam Neumann stress the uniqueness of their community's culture. 

2019 IPO market was solid, despite some big flops

Briefing

Companies going public learned an important lesson for 2020.

And companies looking to go public learned an important lesson for 2020.

 Rebekah, when you think about leadership, what is the single most important trait that you think makes a great leader? A great leader, first and foremost, is a great person and a great human being, someone that has a lot of morals, integrity, someone that values their family, that's loyal, that's truthful, and that approaches life with a deep respect for these sorts of things. You have to bring that to the office first. And then, you can get into everything else that's happening in the workplace. To be a great leader, you first have to be a great follower. To be a great leader, after you know how to be a great follower, you have to lead by example. And then, if that example is a meaningful one, people will follow. Adam, how did you learn about how to lead other people? I mean, you didn't even really have much business experience when you started your company. Serving in the army teaches you leadership. I was an officer in the Israeli Navy. I learned-- by the time I was 19, I had 20 soldiers and sometimes I would manage a boat that cost more than half a billion dollars. A lot of responsibility at a very young age. So I did have that experience. Business wise, I truly only started understanding what it is to run a business after I met Rebekah. I genuinely thought it was about making money, and if I could lead my team to all make money, they will be happy and their investors will be happy. Rebekah met me and said, Adam, I'm sorry, you're confused. It's about bringing meaning and intention to the world. It's about doing what you love, bringing intention, connecting the two. And she said, I promise you, the rest will follow, money will follow, and everything will work itself out. So Rebekah, where did you learn that wisdom about leadership? My brother passed when I was 11 years old and I very quickly came to understand what is meaningful in life. And I just don't think you can separate life from work. I think what's meaningful in life is what's meaningful in the workplace. And what we're seeing now with the We generation is everybody wants to live a more meaningful life, be more happy and fulfilled. So it sounds like some of it, in your case, Adam, was trial by error. A lot. OK. So what was the biggest mistake that you made along the way and what was the leadership lesson that you learned from it? I make mistakes all the time. Being open minded to them, giving your team, your fellow members, your husbands, your wife the opportunity to point them out to you. And being open minded enough to not taking it personally, but growing from it, is the best way that I've dealt with mistakes. And you have a lot of millennials working inside the WeWork organization and how do you teach them about leadership? How do you mentor them? It's really about setting an example and doing it but mainly every time I make a mistake, admitting it in front of a large group of people, learning from it, and, then, doing something different next time. Showing that there's always room to grow. Another part of leadership is also encouraging people to try new and innovative things, to be innovators. How are you getting that message across that people are willing to take risks, willing to fail, rather than just sticking with the safe way of doing things? It's only OK to fail if the reasons you did it to begin with was not to grow your own ego but actually to elevate the organization. If, after you failed, you learn from it, and you'll teach others, then it's OK. Rebekah, as you look back on your life, both personal and professional, what would you say was the best leadership advice that you ever received? And why did it shape you as a leader? We all know Gandhi's quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I really think that's the best thing I can bring forth as a leader is to be as authentically on brand-- and when I say on brand for WeWork that means a really good person who really cares about people who's really tenacious about my work and who's super grateful for all of our blessings-- to actually try to everyday be those things. And I think that's the best way that I can help them. How about you, Adam? Don't demand respect. Respect is earned based on actions. If you don't feel that people are listening to you, look inside. You don't have a bad team, you don't have bad people around you, you're being a bad leader. Grow. Every time something doesn't work my way, instead of pointing fingers, I try to look inside. Sometimes I still make the mistake and point fingers and at night before I go to sleep, I think of it then and say, ah, I missed on that one. Tomorrow, I'll go back to that person, apologize that I got upset, and actually look inside and find a better way to be a better leader. 

WeWork CEO: 'Do Not Demand Respect'

Leadership

Cofounders Rebekah and Adam Neumann talk lessons in leadership.

Rebecca. When you think about leadership, what is the single most important trait that you think makes a great leader a great leader? First and foremost is a great person and a great human being. Someone that has a lot of morals, integrity, someone that values their family that's loyal. That's truthful and that approaches life with deep respect for these sorts of things. You have to bring that to the lawlessness first, and then you can get into everything else was happening in the workplace. To be a great leader, you first have to be a great follower to be a great leader after you know how to be grateful. Er, you have to live by example. And then if that example is a meaningful one, people will follow. Adam, how did you learn about how to lead other people? And you didn't really have much business experience when you started your company? Serving in the Army teaches your leadership. I was an officer in the Israeli navy. I learned by the time I was 1920 soldiers and sometimes it would manage a boat that costs more than half a $1,000,000,000 a lot of responsibility at a very young age. I did have that experience. Business wise. I truly only started understanding what it is to run a business. After I met Rebecca, I genuinely thought was about making money. And if I could lead my team to all make money, they will be happy and the investors will be happy. Rebecca met me and said that I'm I'm sorry you're confused about bringing meaning and intention to the world. It's about doing what you love bringing intention, connecting the two. And she said, I promise you the rest will follow. Money will follow and everything will work itself out. Rebecca, where did you learn that wisdom about leadership? My brother passed when I was 11 years old, and I very quickly came to understand what is meaningful in life. And I just don't think you can separate life from work. I think what's meaningful in life is meaningful in the workplace. And what we're seeing now with the regeneration is everybody wants to live a more meaningful like be more happy and fulfilled. So it sounds like some of it. Your case Adam Waas trial by error and okay, so what was the biggest mistake that you made along the way. And what was the leadership lesson that you learned from it? I make mistakes all the time, being open minded to them, giving your team your fellow members, your husband, your wife, the opportunity to point them out to you and being open minded enough to not taking it firstly, but growing from it is the best way that I've dealt with mistakes. You have a lot of millennials working inside the we work organization. And how do you teach them about leadership? How do you mentor them? It's really about setting an example in doing it mainly every time I make a mistake, admitting it in front of a large group of people learning from it and then bring something different next time, showing that there's always room to grow. Another part of leadership is also encouraging people to try new and innovative things to the innovators. How are you getting that message across that people are willing to take risks, willing to fail rather than just sticking with safe way of doing things? It's on Lee okay to fail if the reasons you did it to begin with was not to grow your ego, but actually to elevate organization. If, after you failed, you learn from it and you'll teach others, then it's OK. We're back and you look back on your life both personal and professional. What would you say was the best leadership advice that you ever received? And why did it shape you as a leader that we all know? Gandhi's quote be the change you wish to see in the world? I really think that's the best thing I could bring forth is the leader is to be as authentically on Brand. And when I say on brand for we work, that means a really good person who really cares about people who's really tenacious about my work and who's super grateful for all of our blessings to actually try to every day be those things. And I think that's the best way that I can help them. How about you, Adam? Don't demand respect. Respect is earned based on action. If you don't feel that people are listening to you. Look inside. You don't have a bad team. You don't have bad people around you. You're being a bad leader. Go every time something doesn't work. My way. Instead of pointing fingers, I tried to look inside. Sometimes they still make them steak and point fingers in the night Before I go to sleep, I think of the dance I missed on that one tomorrow, go back, that person apologize that I got upset and actually look inside and find a better way to be a better leader.

 Adam, many CEOs are now saying that the purpose of business is to go beyond just making profits, and so they're addressing social problems as part of their core corporate mission. Now, we know at WeWork, you've been thinking that way all along from the beginning. But what would you say-- what does leading with purpose mean to you? So to me, it starts with the leader. The leader needs to ask themselves, first of all, what is my do what I love moment? It's very important that it's something you're passionate about. Otherwise, you'll never see it through. This thing that I'm passionate about, does it fit my organization? Is that a capacity or an ability that my organization has? Is that a core competency? If the answer is yes and yes, will I do something positive in the world? Is my intention actually one of changing and uplifting, or is my intention only money? If the answer is yes to all three, I think that's where leading with purpose starts. And if that's your truth, employees will follow, customers will follow, and the world will follow. Rebekah, what are your thoughts? From the beginning, before WeWork started, we knew that we wanted to start a company that was going to hopefully really positively impact the world. That's not something that we layered on later, which I think is an important thing to do. The way to lead with purpose is to constantly grow and evolve as a person yourself, and then hopefully, when you're in the workspace, bring that energy and that presence to people around you. And what we found is that employees today are no longer looking just to grow professionally. They want to grow personally. I want to pick up on what you're saying about evolving, because it seems, Adam, that your thoughts about leading with purpose is evolving. And I'm referring in particular to how you and the company have been helping one of your employees, Valerie Batista, come up with a bone marrow match to cure her of a very rare disease. And WeWork and everyone in the company has been rallying behind it. You've joined forces with a nonprofit called Be the Match to help her out. So in what way is this one case triggering maybe a even broader view of what your business philosophy is, and your definition of purpose? When Valerie got sick, we did not understand the severity of how sick. She was she just asked for leave so she can help heal herself, and we were all very supportive. One of my lawyers rushes into my office in December and says, Adam, a horrible thing happened yesterday night. Valerie called me and asked me if LegalZoom is a company that you could use to write a will. And I said, what are you talking about a will? Valerie's in their early 30s. And she said, no, Adam, it's very bad. And I suddenly woke up and I said, wait, we talk about this all the time, and an employee of ours is talking about and will at her early 30s? Then purpose kicked in. And since then, the whole company has rallied behind finding Valerie a match. But by doing that, we're actually going to help hundreds of thousands of people around the world find matches, because now we're creating new awareness to the entire topic, getting more people to volunteer, to donate, to do a swap. And that's leading with purpose. And we're grateful for Valerie. I wish this was not the problem. We will find a match, but we're going to do a lot more than that. We're going to help uplift a category. So Rebekah, how is Valerie's story changing your view on purpose? I wouldn't say it's necessarily changing my view on purpose, because that's something intrinsic to how I operate all the time. But what I'm really noticing is the power of community, which we talk about. And after speaking a lot with Valerie, she really feels that a lot of her healing has come from the entire community supporting her and rallying behind her. And she feels safe that Adam-- because she feels Adam delivers and manifest things-- is going to find her a match. Adam, a lot of people still in the business world have not bought into this kind of thinking, and they say this act of charity, like what you're doing for Valerie, is a wonderful thing that you're doing, but there there's a disconnect between doing good work and making money. So first of all, you used the word charity. We're not helping Valerie. Valerie is helping us by giving us an opportunity to give. We know as the fact that giving is receiving, so therefore, she's wondering something for us. To answer your question more directly, we will prove very soon that a business that puts intention and meaning before material goods ends up being more successful, and that success will also translate financially. We will make more money in the bottom line. Our employees care more about every dollar. They care more about how much things costs. They care more about their own compensation, and only ask for what they need and where they want to be, but no more than that. And every single action they take has meaning and intention behind it. Not only that-- I believe companies like this, who actually make a difference in the world, will get a higher multiple than even a technology company. So as we prove over time that our value is also higher financially, we'll give the right cues to CEOs and boards all over the world to start doing it for themselves. One more thing about intention -- you can't have a company that's 100 years old and wake up today and decide you have intention. Those are just words, and that's just branding. The We generation will not buy into it. Intention comes from a leader and executive team that actually believes from the depth of their soul that this is the truth, and leads by example. If they're not an agent of change, these are just marketing words, and the We generation will not buy into it. Maybe for a year, but two years from now, we'll know what you're doing, and we'll go buy from the person who actually means it. 

WeWork's Search for a Bone Marrow Match

How the shared workspace startup is doing good by leading with purpose.

Adam. Many seals are now saying that the purpose of business is to go beyond just making profits. And so they're addressing social problems as part of their core corporate mission. Now we know what we were. You've been thinking that way all along from the beginning. But what would you say? What does leaving with purpose. So to me, it starts with the leader. The leader needs to ask themselves, First of all, what is my do what I love moment. Very important. That something you're passionate about, otherwise you'll never see it through. The thing that I'm passionate about that except my organization Is that a capacitor? An ability that organization has. Is that a core competency? The answer is yes and yes, well, I do something positive in the world. Is my intention actually, one of changing and uplifting with my intention on Lee money? If the answer is yes, tow me. I think that's where leading with purpose starts. And if that's your truth, employees will follow, customers will follow and the world will follow. Rebecca, where you're from the beginning, before we work started, knew that we wanted to start a company that was gonna hopefully really, positively impact the world. That's not something that we kind of layered on later, which I think is important thing to D'oh. The way to lead with purpose is to constantly grow and evolve as a person yourself. And then, hopefully when you're in the workspace, bring that energy and that presents to people around you. And what we found is that employees today are no longer looking just to grow professionally. They want to grow. Personally. I want to pick up on what you're saying about evolving because it seems Adam, that your thoughts about leading with purpose is evolving. And I'm referring in particular to how you and the company have been helping one of your employees, Valerie Batista, come up with a bone marrow match to cure her of a very rare disease. And we work, and every one of the company has been rallying behind it. You've joined forces with a nonprofit called Be the Match to help her to help her up. So in what way is this one case triggering maybe even broader view off what your business philosophy is and your definition of purpose? When Valerie got sick, we didn't understand the severity of how sick she was. She just asked for leave so she can help heal herself. And we were all very supportive. One of my lawyers called rushes into my office in December, and other horrible thing happened to the night Valerie called me and asked me. A legal zone is a company that you produced to write a will. What are you talking about? The well Valerie's in their early thirties and signaling them. It's very bad. And I suddenly woke up and said, Wait, we talk about this all the time and an employee of ours is talking about a will in her early thirties. Then purpose kicked in, and since then, the whole company is rallied behind finding Valerie a match. But by doing that, we're actually gonna help hundreds of thousands of people around the world find matches. Because now we're creating new awareness to the entire topic, getting more people to volunteer, to donate, to do a swap. And that's leading with purpose. And we're grateful for Valerie. I wish this was not the problem. We will find the match what we're gonna do a lot more than that. We're gonna help uplift the category. So Rebecca Howe is Valerie Story changing your view on purpose? I wouldn't say it's necessarily changing my view on purpose because that's something intrinsic to how I operate all the time. But what's on what I'm really noticing is the power of community, which we talk about. And after speaking a lot with Valerie, she really feels that a lot of her healing has come from the entire community supporting her and rallying behind her. And she feels safe that Adam, because she feels Adam, you know, delivers and manifesting is going to find her a match. Adam. A lot of people still in the business will have not bought into this kind of thinking, and they say this act of charity, like what you're doing for Valerie is a wonderful thing that you're doing. But there's a disconnect between doing good work and making money. First of all, you used the word charity. We're not helping Valerie Valerie helping us by giving us an opportunity to give. We know the fact that giving is receiving. So therefore she's wondering something for us. I'll answer your question more directly. We will prove very soon that the business that puts intention and meaning before material goods ends up. Being more successful in that success will also translate financially. We will make more money in the bottom line. Our employees care more about every dollar. They care more about how much things cost. They care more about their own compensation and only asked for what they need and where they want to be. But no more than that. And every single action they take has winning an intention behind it. Not only that, I believe companies like this actually make a difference in there. We'll get a higher multiple than even a technology company. So if we prove over time that our value is also higher, financially will give the right cues to CEOs and boards all over the world to start doing it for themselves. One more thing about intention. You can't have a company that's 100 years old and wake up to then decide you have intentions. Those are just words, and that's just branding. The regeneration will not buy into it. Intention comes from a leader and executive team that actually believes from the depth of their soul that this is the truth and lead by example. If they're not an agent of change these air, just marketing words and the regeneration will not buy into it before year. But two years from now, we'll know what you're doing, and we will go by from the person who actually means it.