On Monday, Mr Neumann issued a statement saying the impending bankruptcy was “disappointing”. “It has been challenging for me to watch from the sidelines since 2019 as WeWork has failed to take advantage of a product that is more relevant today than ever before,” he said, while predicting that a reorganisation would “enable WeWork to emerge successfully”.
Later:
Mr Neumann sought to make WeWork a lifestyle brand for “the we generation”, with offshoots in co-living and schooling and a mission to “elevate the world’s consciousness”. But the cash-burning company could not generate the profits to match his vision.
To be charitable, Adam Neumann's take on WeWork's bankruptcy sounds like he's not seeing the full picture. Or any picture. Or reality itself. He says the situation is "disappointing" and suggests that if he were still in charge, things might be different because WeWork's co-working model is, supposedly, more relevant than ever. But here's the thing: relevance doesn't automatically translate to success. WeWork's nosedive towards bankruptcy tells us that the company's approach isn't working, period.
Neumann's vision for WeWork was grandiose, with talk about revolutionizing not just office space but living and learning, too. But, for all the talk, WeWork was haemorrhaging cash and never came close to turning the kind of profit Neumann's big dreams needed. When he says a reorganization could help WeWork bounce back, you have to remember this is the same guy whose leadership led to the company's overvaluation and the IPO fiasco in 2019.
It's easy to claim from the sidelines that you could have done better, but the evidence doesn't back him up. Under Neumann's watch, WeWork's spending was out of control, and there was a lot of hype with little to show in the way of a sustainable business model. Now that WeWork is in trouble, it's a bit rich for Neumann to hint that it's because he's not at the helm.
In short, Neumann's comments are detached from his role in WeWork's downfall. The company's struggles are directly linked to how it was run under his leadership, and his suggestion that he could've saved the day if he were still in charge doesn't hold water.
