For those working in Uberweekends don’t necessarily mean “work” stops. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently joined the CEO Diary podcast to pull back the curtain on the company’s high-intensity culture. For Khosrowshahi, the Saturday morning inbox notification was not just a suggestion but a standard. He revealed that “working hard” often meant sending emails over the weekend, and if his team went silent, he would follow up with a pointed question mark on Sunday.
In a conversation with host Steven Bartlett, Khosrowshahi shared, “Part of the hard work is sending an email to the team on Saturday,” he continued, adding, “If I don’t get a response on Saturday, send them an email with a question mark on Sunday. What’s going on? “
Uber CEO talks work-life balance:
Before joining Uber in 2017, Dara Khosrowshahi served as CEO Expedia. In his speech, he recalled his previous company, saying: “In hindsight, at Expedia we worked intensely and hard, but not as hard as I would have liked. Because Expedia sells vacations—the product we sell is relaxing on your own. So we do talk about work-life balance. “
However, he clarified that this was not the case with Uber. “At Uber, it’s different. When you come to Uber, you work your butt off. We’re very strict. If you don’t perform well, we let you know. If you don’t fix the problem, we kick you out.”
He added that those who work hard will have a great future, “Even though it’s going to be very tough, you’ll have real agency in the company. We are a big company, but individuals can make a huge difference, and this is a company that is changing the world. You’ll learn a lot and although you’ll work hard, you’ll have a great time.
However, the CEO warned, “But if you want to go with the flow, don’t come here. I know that. I should know better on Expedia, but we’re selling vacations, so I can’t be that direct.”
What is the price of hard work?
Khosrowshahi said he worked hard, taught his children to do the same, and expected his employees to live by the same principles. “I want our company to do the same. I want Uber to be a very hard-working company.”
At this point, Bartlett asked: “But it comes at a cost, right? Hard work.” Khosrowshahi responded: “It’s a trade-off. We believe in flexibility. So people confuse a lack of flexibility with hard work. You can work hard and have flexibility at the same time.”
He continued, “So if you want to have dinner with your family — and I’m a big fan of having dinner with my family from six to eight when I’m in town — definitely spend that time with your family. But at 9:30 PM I’m checking my email. When I woke up at 5:30 in the morning, I was checking my email. So of course there are trade-offs, and life is all about trade-offs. “
“Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi reveals the future of self-driving cars, how he led Uber’s financial turnaround, his family’s escape from Iran in 1978, and the truth about artificial intelligence, automation, and unemployment! Dara Khosrowshahi is Uber’s CEO, successfully turning the company from losing $3 billion a year to generating more than $9 billion in free cash flow. He previously served as CEO of Expedia for more than a decade, growing the company into a global leader in online travel. ” Bartlett wrote as he shared a video of his full conversation with Khosrowshahi on YouTube.
