A few weeks ago, a friend clued me into an amusingly shocking fact:
Adam Neumann is back.
You might remember Neumann as the former CEO of WeWork. Handsome, charismatic, and prophet-like, Neumann built a $40-billion company, only to have it all crash down as the WeWork IPO failed. In the wake of that, news reports exposed WeWork’s flimsy business model and the cult-like culture that fluffed it up for investors.
After Neumann was forced out as CEO, he was disgraced in the media as a grifter, hype artist, and woo-woo crackpot whose delusional self-belief infected others. “Serves you right for getting so big so fast,” cackled the little men at the Wall Street Journal and Vanity Fair, “you’ll never work in this town again!”
Well, like I said, Neumann is back. Is it really any surprise?
He now has a new company, something to do with climate and crypto. He has raised $70 million for it already.
Will this new MacGuffin turn into another multi-billion-dollar venture?
Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. One thing is for sure:
Adam Neumann does some very important things very right.
For example:
Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson once said that Neumann reminded him of Jobs. Some time later, Neumann claimed that Isaacson might write his biography. (Isaacson apparently never considered writing such a book.)
Another example:
Jamie Dimon, the billionaire CEO of JP Morgan Chase, lead a round of investment into WeWork. As a result, Neumann called Dimon his own “personal banker” and said Dimon might leave JPMorgan to run Neumann’s family investment office one day. (Dimon apparently never had any plans to leave JPMorgan.)
You might think these are examples of braggartly and grasping status-building. But I think it goes much deeper than that. I will have more to say about it, and probably soon.
For now, I’d like to announce that I’ve decided to allow Adam Neumann to act as my personal advisor on all matters personal branding and positioning. I respect Adam’s skills and instincts within this sphere. And I always look to surround myself with the best advisors, associates, and underlings. Adam is definitely fit to be among my inner circle.
It might take a bit of time for word to reach Adam that I have decided to let him become a trusted advisor to me.
In the meantime, I will continue to offer you the chance to transform your own business through my consulting service.
Once Adam joins my team, I might raise my consulting rate to $100k/hr and a 20% stake of your business. Or I might just drop the consulting and focus on my own more lucrative projects. We will see what input Adam has to give me on the matter.
For now though, you have the opportunity to have me help you elevate your offer, wow your clients and customers, and even position yourself as a prophet in your industry. In case you want a piece of the action: