Uber’s New CEO Thinks Solution to Countless Problems is ‘Celebrating Differences’

Kai Flaffenbach/Reuters
Kai Flaffenbach/Reuters

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has announced new “cultural norms” for the company to replace the previous values implemented by ousted CEO Travis Kalanick.

In an announcement post, Khosrowshahi criticized Kalanick’s former values, claiming, “too often” they were “used as an excuse for being an asshole.”

After praising Uber and its employees, the CEO added, “But it’s also clear that the culture and approach that got Uber where it is today is not what will get us to the next level.”

“As we move from an era of growth at all costs to one of responsible growth, our culture needs to evolve. Rather than ditching everything, I’m focused on preserving what works while quickly changing what doesn’t,” Khosrowshahi declared. “This is the approach we’ve taken with our new cultural values, which we announced to employees today. Our values define who we are and how we work, but I had heard from many employees that some of them simply didn’t represent the kind of company we want to be.”

“For instance, ‘toe-stepping’ was meant to encourage employees to share their ideas regardless of their seniority or position in the company, but too often it was used as an excuse for being an asshole,” he claimed. “I feel strongly that culture needs to be written from the bottom up.”

Uber’s new “cultural norms” include, “We build globally, we live locally,” “We are customer obsessed,” “We celebrate differences,” “We do the right thing. Period,” “We act like owners,” “We persevere,” “We value ideas over hierarchy,” and “We make big bold bets.”

Kalanick’s former values, which were revealed in 2015, included, “Customer obsession,” “Make magic,” “Big bold bets,” “Inside out,” “Champion’s mind-set,” “Optimistic leadership,” “Superpumped,” “Be an owner, not a renter,” “Meritocracy and toe-stepping,” “Let builders build,” “Always be hustlin’,” “Celebrate cities,” “Be yourself,” and “Principled confrontation.”

Though Khosrowshahi kept Kalanick values such as “big bold bets,” and “be an owner,” the rest have been removed, with Khosrowshahi showing the most disdain for “toe-stepping.”

Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington and Gab @Nash, or like his page at Facebook.

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