Jeff Bezos just lately gave Adam Neumann some unsolicited recommendation: Communicate final in conferences, a management type espoused by a number one organizational psychologist.
Neumann stated Bezos got here as much as him with the advice after the WeWork cofounder spoke at an occasion.
“I used to be so completely satisfied he needed to present me any kind of recommendation,” Neumann stated on stage at Thursday’s Bloomberg Tech Summit in San Francisco.
He stated he is evolving as a frontrunner at Stream, his house firm.
“I’ve traders across the desk who should not solely snug pushing again, I believe they prefer it,” Neumann stated on Thursday. Stream’s essential backer is famed enterprise capital agency Andreessen Horowitz, whereas WeWork’s major investor is Japanese titan SoftBank.
At WeWork, Neumann was well-known for his eccentric management type. His alcohol-fueled govt conferences might stretch effectively into the night time, Enterprise Insider beforehand reported. He typically talked about superpowers — together with with former BI editors in a 2019 interview — and in regards to the significance of authenticity.
“The way in which you construct a relationship is authenticity, with actually connecting to the individual. And listening,” Neumann advised BI in 2019.
Bezos, in the meantime, is thought for far more company management, together with tightly orchestrated conferences. On a December podcast with Lex Fridman, he highlighted the significance of leaders holding again. Bezos stated he goals for a tradition that enables junior employees to overrule their senior counterparts when information helps their considering.
Bezos beneficial that essentially the most junior individual participates in a gathering first, after which the assembly flows so as of ascending seniority.
“I do know from expertise that if I communicate first, even very strong-willed, highly-intelligent, high-judgment members in that assembly will surprise, ‘Properly if Jeff thinks that, I got here on this assembly considering one factor, however perhaps I am not proper,'” Bezos stated on the podcast.
Bezos’ technique is not new — organizational psychologists like Adam Grant, a professor on the Wharton College of the College of Pennsylvania, have lengthy championed the thought.
A consultant for Neumann didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider despatched outdoors regular enterprise hours.


