“As the world becomes a more digital place, we cannot forget about the human connection.”
― Adam Neumann
“How do you change the world? Bring people together. Where is the easiest big place to bring people together? In the work environment.”
― Adam Neumann
“Globalisation for a startup is exciting; you have to learn so fast about the different cultures of the world.”
― Adam Neumann
“I believe that when you do what you love, you find higher levels of satisfaction that can compensate for lower income.”
― Adam Neumann
“Success is not just making money. Success is happiness. Success is fulfillment; it’s the ability to give.”
― Adam Neumann
“The ’90s and early 2000s were the ‘I’ decade. iPhone, the iPod – everything was about me. Look where that got us? In a terrible recession.”
― Adam Neumann
“I happen to love buildings, and my passion is bringing people together.”
― Adam Neumann
“If more people follow their superpowers – and everyone has one – then we’re going to be better as a society.”
― Adam Neumann
“If you’re going to build a business that’s based on community, your business has to have community in it.”
― Adam Neumann
“As far as WeWork is concerned, we’re not competing with co-working spaces; we’re not competing with office suites. We’re competing with work. We think there’s a new way of working in the world, and it’s just better. For the millenials and everybody that understands collaboration and the sharing economy, that’s just the right way for them.”
― Adam Neumann
“WeWork is working to create a world where people make a life and not just a living.”
― Adam Neumann
“If you are open-minded and you let the universe come in, you never know where things might go.”
― Adam Neumann
“WeWork is my fifth venture. I failed in my first, second and third, had mediocre success in the fourth.”
― Adam Neumann
“When I came to the U.S., I tried to take shortcuts to make money – but everything crashed.”
― Adam Neumann
“WeWork has always believed that we are better together, and a large part of that is learning from others through meaningful connections and experiences.”
― Adam Neumann
“When I met my wife, I was focused on making money but failing miserably.”
― Adam Neumann
“Life is about being present. Sometimes your home will demand more attention, and you should be there. Sometimes your work is more demanding. But the beautiful thing when you create your life’s work is that it always feels like you’re on a mission.”
― Adam Neumann
“If it’s servicing a real need, that doesn’t go away in a recession. If you’re serving a true need, and if you have a loyal group of customers that are falling… As the world goes through a tough time, these customers will stay with you.”
― Adam Neumann
“I met with my spiritual teacher and went to a therapist. I realized that if I came from a positive place, not only will everyone feel better and I will feel happier, but the company will work better.”
― Adam Neumann
“New York is the new Silicon Valley.”
― Adam Neumann
“If your business is the right business, then money will never be an issue.”
― Adam Neumann
“I served in the Israeli Navy, and it’s not an easy thing.”
― Adam Neumann
“I never had a traditional mentor. I know people who have been successful with a mentor, but I’ve never understood why I should limit myself to the knowledge and expertise of one person.”
― Adam Neumann
“When I was a little kid, me and all my family lived in a house the size of my daughter’s room.”
― Adam Neumann
“India is a unique and special place but a challenging business environment.”
― Adam Neumann
“The right people don’t care about a corner office – they care about the culture, if you’re mission-driven, what you’re going to do to make the world a better place.”
― Adam Neumann
“Anybody that wants to be something greater than themselves, that understands that bringing meaning and intention into work and bringing those two things together, is a member of the ‘we generation,’ and the money tends to follow.”
― Adam Neumann
“The one thing we learned about community – you can’t force community.”
― Adam Neumann
“Let’s not look at working hard as a negative; let’s look at it as an uplifting opportunity for us to be better.”
― Adam Neumann
“I’m dyslexic.”
― Adam Neumann
“When we launched WeWork back in 2010, we saw our opportunity to build community by bringing people together.”
― Adam Neumann
“It takes courage to be an entrepreneur.”
― Adam Neumann
“Finishing what you started is important.”
― Adam Neumann
“Once you choose to enter a WeWork, you choose to be part of something more ‘we’ than ‘me.’ People start coming together. They’ll see each other in the elevator; they talk in the stairways. There’s a thousand other things they do.”
― Adam Neumann
“Happiness comes from within.”
― Adam Neumann
“I believe that doing the right thing will not only create the best culture and the best product, but you’ll also make the most money – even if you’re making decisions that lose you money in the short term.”
― Adam Neumann
“Before WeWork, I had a baby clothing company. When I started out, I had no real contacts in the garment business and no mentor to guide me on how things worked. I just had an idea to put pads on the baby clothes on to protect the baby’s knees.”
― Adam Neumann
“There’s no one person that can provide all the insights I need to run the business. There are so many aspects to WeWork: Digital, real estate, operations, space, and design. I pick and choose people who can help in each aspect.”
― Adam Neumann
“My wife is absolutely one of my key advisors. She comes from a background that’s very different than mine.”
― Adam Neumann
“When I moved to New York City from Israel, I came here with the idea to get a great job, have tons of fun, and make a lot of money. Growing up in Israel, I watched a lot of American TV, and I thought it’s what the ‘cool’ people did, and I wanted the same thing.”
― Adam Neumann
“When I started at Baruch in January 2002, I was almost 23 years old. I’d previously spent five years as an officer the Israeli Navy. I did what I thought you were supposed to do at that age – a little studying and a lot of trying to have fun.”
― Adam Neumann
“I do believe that mentorship is something I did not get in school, and I don’t think it exists in school in a sufficient way.”
― Adam Neumann
“Mentorship plays such an important role in business – we know it’s a must – and I believe schools should embrace it in a much fuller way.”
― Adam Neumann
“Do I think people who need a good opportunity become harder workers sometimes? Yes.”
― Adam Neumann
“The most precious resource we have is time.”
― Adam Neumann
“Technology has made it possible to order food, buy clothes, get a ride – anything you can think of, really – at the touch of a button. But what about having the right people near you when you need them?”
― Adam Neumann
“Others think their American ways will work in other countries. That’s not always accurate and can be disrespectful to the local culture.”
― Adam Neumann
“Huge success is very hard to come by.”
― Adam Neumann
“WeWork is a platform that is powered by technology. Our members are running their entire experience with WeWork through the app.”
― Adam Neumann
“I think all of us naturally want to be a part of a community… at home and at work.”
― Adam Neumann
“You never know who you’re talking to. Don’t limit a young student’s dream, because that’s how we change the world.”
― Adam Neumann
“During Shabbat, I am completely cut off, there is no one to talk to, and I do not compromise about it.”
― Adam Neumann
“I would not have guessed how much I love being a father.”
― Adam Neumann
“Before I started WeWork, I owned a baby clothing company based in Dumbo, Brooklyn.”
― Adam Neumann
“If you really want to change the world, change kids when they’re two.”
― Adam Neumann
“A capitalistic kibbutz is not a bad idea. You need both.”
― Adam Neumann
“It’s one thing to change regulations on the city level, another on the state, and still another on the federal. The higher the levels are, the more difficult change gets.”
― Adam Neumann
“After I arrived in the United States, I realized that in the army, Israelis learn how to be part of something bigger than themselves.”
― Adam Neumann
“As a child who lived in a lot of places, one of the hardest things for me was to join a new community. It was hardest at the kibbutz, but that was also one of the most impressive communities.”
― Adam Neumann
“I remember how much fun it was to be a child in the kibbutz.”
― Adam Neumann
“I learned a lot in the naval officers’ course. It gave me a lot.”
― Adam Neumann
“I believe that if you regularly make the right choice – and it takes practice; it takes effort – the more you make the right choice, the easier it gets.”
― Adam Neumann
“We always wanted to create a business that makes a difference in the world.”
― Adam Neumann
“Serving in the Israeli Army taught me what it means to be part of something greater than yourself.”
― Adam Neumann
“I actually think most people do what they love because it’s really important to them.”
― Adam Neumann
“I try to surround myself with people smarter than me – if I’m the smartest guy in the room, I change rooms.”
― Adam Neumann
“Be the guy that delivers the goods and consistently promise things that you can deliver. Even if you under-promise, it’s better than over-promising and not delivering, because you don’t get a lot of tries.”
― Adam Neumann
“The good thing about India is that they believe something great about themselves.”
― Adam Neumann
“One of the difficult things in a high-growth company is that, even with the best intentions, the company moves so fast, and growth happens so regularly. When you move at that rate, you have to be willing to change, and you have to be willing to take advice.”
― Adam Neumann
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