• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Exclusive

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

Leadership

3 Steps Uber Is Taking Towards Changing Its Culture

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 25, 2017, 3:39 PM ET

Change is in the air at Uber.

On Monday, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote an “un-Uber-like” open letter asking Londoners to forgive mistakes it made in an effort to win back the right to operate in the city.

That same day, Arianna Huffington spoke at the Fortune and Time CEO Initiative conference in New York City about a number of other ways in which the company has evolved.

“If you were a top performer delivering growth, a lot was forgiven you,” the Thrive Global founder and Uber board member said, describing what Uber’s business culture was like before a blog post by a former employee Susan Fowler sparked one of the most significant changes within a company in recent history, including the resignation of its CEO Travis Kalanick.

Fowler’s blog post published in February 2017 reflected “on one very, very strange year at Uber”—an experience that included accusations of sexual harassment and accounts of mismanagement and other bad behavior. It prompted Kalanick to hire former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the claims.

Huffington, the only woman on the board at the time, got involved from the beginning and chaired the subcommittee that oversaw the Holder investigation. During a “raw and emotional” all-hands staff meeting just two days after Fowler’s post, Huffington said she made a number of pronouncements to reassure Uber’s then-14,000 employees that change would be coming.

“I named top performers who misbehaved ‘brilliant jerks,'” Huffington told Nancy Gibbs, editorial director of Time Inc. News Group, while on stage. “And I announced at that all-hands that Uber would become a place of zero tolerance for brilliant jerks.”

The actions that followed that all-hands, including the dismissal of 26 employees after the results of Holder’s investigation were announced, sent a very clear message “that we meant business” and were serious about making fundamental changes.

More CEO Initiative coverage: Jamie Dimon Wants College Kids to Play in Downtown Detroit

Change is critical—even if it means losing top performers—because the world has changed and what happens in the culture of a company affects business metrics, said Huffington, who founded media website HuffPost.

Uber’s 65 million users love the product. Now, Uber is on a journey to become a company they will love too, she said.

Here are a few ways Uber is changing:

1. Surface Problems Quickly

“Surfacing problems faster is now a key element of a thriving culture,” Huffington said. “I see culture as becoming the immune system of the company.”

Healthy companies have processes in place that allow employees to share problems and the proper training for managers to handle those issues quickly.

“One of the problems we had was that 62% of Uber managers had never managed before,” she said. “They didn’t have the skill set required to manage.”

2. Changing the Myth About Success

“We are suffering from this delusion, both at the individual and corporate level that in order to succeed we need to burn out,” Huffington said, adding that modern science and research shows this is untrue.

Instead, people need to find ways to recharge either through sleep, hobbies, or even turning off their smartphones. Thrive Global works with companies to like Airbnb and Accenture, to produce cultures where employees are not burned out. The startup also has a consumer-facing website that publishes articles on wellness and healthy living.

“At Uber, you can see the connection between burnt out people acting out,” Huffington said. “I know that when I’m tired I’m more reactive, I’m less empathic, I’m not as creative. We can all remember how we operate when we’re running on empty. When you’re a 26-year-old engineer or manager you may do worse than being reactive and not being emphatic, and that acting out is at a very high cost to the business.”

3. Changing What Uber Values

Uber has changed or even eliminated a few of its values in its effort to change the culture. One of the first things to go was a cultural value of “always being on,” Huffington said. “Being always on is not the way human beings operate at their best,” she said.

Another one was striking “longer” from its “work smarter, harder, longer” cultural value because working smarter and longer contradict each other.

Finally, Uber renamed its war room, to the peace room because “symbols matter,” she said.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

shyam
CommentaryHealth
World Economic Forum: women’s health gets only 20% of R&D funding. We must seize this $1 trillion opportunity
By Shyam BishenMay 18, 2026
2 hours ago
This community college student is America’s entrant in the Olympics of skilled trades. ‘I always wanted to be the first female to do something’
Future of Workthe future of work
This community college student is America’s entrant in the Olympics of skilled trades. ‘I always wanted to be the first female to do something’
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
15 hours ago
murdochs
CommentaryMedia
OpenAI paid $100 million for a talk show. James Murdoch is eyeing an even bigger deal. The hot new asset class is humanity
By Lin CherryMay 17, 2026
18 hours ago
dennis
CommentaryAI agents
Freshworks CEO: why agile enterprises are winning the AI race — and what they did differently
By Dennis WoodsideMay 17, 2026
18 hours ago
A man with a headset sits at a desk in a call center.
EconomyAutomation
The AI boom hasn’t stopped U.S. companies from hiring cheap offshore labor, and overseas call center employment is still skyrocketing
By Sasha RogelbergMay 17, 2026
18 hours ago
Zillow CEO doubles down on remote-work model: ‘There is talent everywhere in this country’
Workplace Cultureremote work
Zillow CEO doubles down on remote-work model: ‘There is talent everywhere in this country’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 17, 2026
18 hours ago

Most Popular

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
AI
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
2 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
5 days ago
The top foreign holders of U.S. debt may soon dump Treasury bonds and bring their money back home, potentially spiking borrowing costs
Economy
The top foreign holders of U.S. debt may soon dump Treasury bonds and bring their money back home, potentially spiking borrowing costs
By Jason MaMay 17, 2026
13 hours ago
'No one was coming to save me': How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn't fix
Success
'No one was coming to save me': How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn't fix
By Sydney LakeMay 17, 2026
19 hours ago
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
Politics
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
Innovation
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.