WeWork Founder Shares His Insane Strategy For Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

The founder of WeWork shared some advice at the Collision Conference in May 2019 on how to turn around a struggling business, and it’s not what most people would expect! While his advice might not be perfect for every business, he does provide some really important insights into how you should handle your situation if your business isn’t performing as well as you had hoped. Here’s what his story can teach you about how to raise $350M after burning BILLIONS!

Advice #1: Trust your judgement

I'm not saying that every decision I made was the right one. I'm not going to sit here and say that every decision I made was perfect. But what I am going to say is, if you have a hunch, listen to it. - Adam Neumann

Advice #2: Believe in yourself

People will say, 'This guy has had a couple of failures, he's not going to be able to do it again,' Mr. Neumann said. But I'm someone who believes in himself.

Advice #3: Put the past behind you

The first thing he did was to put the past behind him. He didn't dwell on the time when his company had burned billions of dollars. He recognized that it could have been anyone's fault, but in the end, it wasn't worth the time to figure out who was at fault for what. Instead, he focused on what to do next and how to move forward.

Advice #4: Know what you’re good at

Know what you’re good at and focus on it. If you can’t do anything, try to find someone who can help you grow your business. Hire people smarter than you. Sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of the way. Sometimes the best thing you can do is hire someone smarter than yourself to take charge and make decisions. You need to know when this is necessary and when this is not necessary.

Advice #5: Take risk, but avoid unnecessary ones

I've realised that the best way to avoid risk is to be bold. The more you do, the less risk you're taking.

Adam Neumann's journey has been one of tremendous success and equally intense failure. The WeWork founder has a knack for turning lemons into lemonade and never shying away from risks. He's learned how to take calculated gambles and get things done faster than expected.

Advice #6: Ask for help when you need it

Ask for help when you need it. There is no shame in asking for help, and it will often result in a successful outcome.

Advice #7 : Don’t let fear run your life. Learn how to overcome it.

In his interview, Adam Neumann states that he didn’t let fear run his life. Instead, he learned how to overcome it. He had a constant reminder of this on the back of his phone which read Don’t be afraid. I think it’s important to remember that you can always try again. If you don’t succeed, there are other ways to achieve your goals and dreams in life.

Advice #8 : Give Before You Get

Give before you get. When you give, people will be more likely to help you when the time comes. And if they don't have the resources, they will know someone who does. I always give first and then ask for what I need later. One of my favorite examples of this is a few years ago when I went through a very difficult time financially. Asking for help at that moment would not have been an option; I couldn’t afford to even pay my employees on payroll.