Ducks In A Row: Passionate Blunders
by Miki Saxon
A few months ago I reposted Passion Unchecked, because it still seems to be the favorite excuse when things go wrong.
It was Ben Kaufman’s explanation when Quirky failed.
“If I ever go too far, it’s because of the passion I have for this place, and the love I have for this place, and the community,” Kaufman tells Business Insider. “I want this thing to be so perfect and so great. And, yeah, often I may take it too far, but it comes from a place of love, you know?”
Everybody lauded the passion with which Travis Kalanick drove Uber’s growth — until he drove it off a cliff.
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s new CEO, told his troops that they need to take responsibility for what’s been happening.
“While the impulse may be to say that this is unfair, one of the lessons I’ve learned over time is that change comes from self-reflection. So it’s worth examining how we got here. The truth is there is a high cost to a bad reputation.”
High cost indeed, but it could go much higher if the most recent lawsuit gains traction.
Irving Firemen’s Relief & Retirement Fund filed the lawsuit in California federal court on Tuesday. The lawsuit does not say how much the retirement fund is seeking but alleges that Uber has lost at least $18 billion in private market value as a result of a series of scandals and controversies.
Passion isn’t limited to startups; it is present to some degree in almost all humans, especially those in formal or informal leadership roles.
It is the wise boss who understands that while passion is necessary to attract, motivate and sustain people uncontrolled passion isn’t what brings success.
Success results form a mix of passion, intelligence, grit, planning, and hard work.
What changes is the amount of each needed to deal with a given situation.
Image credit: One Day Closer
