The Briefing Jessica E. Lessin June 27th Greetings! I’ll just say it: Things are starting to look ridiculous in Silicon Valley again. Two of our most at times admired, at times reviled tech leaders are getting ready to fight each other in a mixed martial arts cage match. And, as The Wall Street Journal reported today <https://url3396.theinformation.com/ls/click?upn=H96X59jl7qcPYFPKAjaAGqSrUP-2B4KkrhsBM07PDYGsSUYQ1lEsGlX2BTBI3iy07o42SY4sMgwOBiI-2FYwmjjvSka3KBzz0Y0-2BbkAPihwgd5Sz5PNDLfTnXYsUgnbBjC1QvMz9MBX6xTGHKUTFsbjh2IaWy4XQ6uj0GcPGCEvlYw32Xo-2BlXZPKZqaAjSY-2BryXGJIyCBzqMMWNrLH0q6tXxz5j5RSFKsTFf5JfFqMoPXBdPi8BwN3kR8HIcgj7jewdZZ8MTsFylPHVZgU8i4HteGQ-3D-3DGas3_7mtmWTwWa9GEaImphuEDgxZMwWyMAXQumpMZuuANtmcADwCS6JYg4FDTVwT71vr31QVvZl34n6bROOxAiujVlZGfyFhYCgI7OFNrh-2B2hOGO6UkcaPIvfYnPjL69z2m6YhddithsXUPJZf7FeMOimzkS3-2FY0R0vu-2BSFXlwLy9wCp1tM5J80Zqc5TNOeQ0WeGbE-2F40BRjpy4zIydUyPz8yLtfrsGmSVgCje2Fp-2BluKJY6EQiCNacLRV8xiPIbVeffHBHyi7LwgHijdU94Fa2Lp9Cb6opmAvlRzGBqUMdatdJ6Zx13iaT6p4Kqm6SeuUSBUbhi-2Fs0-2BNQu2oeRqnIS-2BEpMwoaAgzZoKQDbIMiOi5EpI-3D>, boards and businesses across tech are dealing with a new problem: workplace drug use by employees and executives.
I was confronted with the drug topic a few weeks ago when I was reading a draft of an excellent story by Paris about a troubled company called CareRev and its CEO, Will Patterson <https://url3396.theinformation.com/ls/click?upn=H96X59jl7qcPYFPKAjaAGjq1zMcqBuuRy89uedNrr9F00W9IJVqHeqLSQ7M5Zi5qL-2BtZnTWgkH3J1iNGnluAaBs9nWN32Xh5PM4dX061x8TZHN-2F4GcTDcnE-2FepT1hEUAgzXBqQZ7Ud6TA-2FNdd-2Fh-2BC8y-2FTrooFVrzccs5mpbfiYc-2Fzs6nnjXHXZCzf0XrF1NnX4gQryIRYayqTHR3Hbzi5pgL2l-2F8p-2BrL8QKNht9zEajvIOizDUvu61HMAy5ZfrLginLK_7mtmWTwWa9GEaImphuEDgxZMwWyMAXQumpMZuuANtmcADwCS6JYg4FDTVwT71vr31QVvZl34n6bROOxAiujVlZGfyFhYCgI7OFNrh-2B2hOGO6UkcaPIvfYnPjL69z2m6YhddithsXUPJZf7FeMOimzkS3-2FY0R0vu-2BSFXlwLy9wCp1tM5J80Zqc5TNOeQ0WeGbE-2F40BRjpy4zIydUyPz8yLmBYM4hMmZMhHfYpAxvnG-2FCUidifx-2B7wggWOCCFJvqzol-2B9-2BD5YOskdKQHPOgkzQu0epnyyIp7KKqUV-2F75xGoEqkgnxanU2VJhkUvBPOLSX4-2FqlHniDmg5ni4w1R5xIl5FNwrndktHPoSyRBa9FhqVM-3D> . Paris and her editor, Nick, started the piece with a compelling description of Patterson microdosing during fundraising meetings. And honestly, I read it and was like, “Hmmm…is that really newsworthy?” Not a week goes by in Silicon Valley without someone talking about microdosing to boost your mood and creativity. Luckily, Nick convinced me that I was wrong and that yes, drug use in a business context is highly newsworthy! I’ve reflected on why I—for a moment—doubted that. Have I become too inured to the extremes of tech culture? You would think that after leading The Information’s coverage of Travis Kalanick at Uber and Adam Neumann at WeWork, I would have remembered an important lesson: Dangerous changes in culture can creep in slowly and then sometimes go to dangerous places. Today, following Paris’ reporting, the CEO of CareRev no longer has a job. And the topic of Silicon Valley drug use in and out of work is getting more scrutiny, as the Journal piece illustrates. As I was reading it today, I was also thinking about all the headlines about Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk preparing to fight each other, provoked by their business rivalry and who knows what else. To be clear, I see a big difference between taking drugs at work or work-related events versus competing in a fight against your corporate archenemy. The first can be very dangerous and can impair your judgment on important business decisions, and in most places it’s illegal. Challenging your business rival to an MMA-style fight to assert one’s dominance over the realms of social communication, tech cult idol status or whatever else is nothing of the sort. But both episodes risk blurring a line that shouldn’t be blurred. The beauty of business is that you don’t have to take drugs or fight people to compete. You can just build a better business and be a better leader. That’s awesome. And tech companies, which begin as young disruptors, are a great embodiment of the simple truth that excellence in business—no matter who you are or what you do on the weekends—can reap big rewards. But it’s not always as simple as that. So many talented people struggle to enter the arena, and companies like Meta Platforms, Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter work hard to attract them. If we bring extracurricular habits into the mix, including those—like fighting—that have very male and aggressive overtones, keeping the tech playing field even remotely even is just going to get harder. And these companies will develop reputations, based on the behavior of their leaders, that will come back to bite them in the long run. A lot of people don’t see it that way. They recognize that we want to know our leaders “authentically.” I think that’s true for some things—perhaps parenthood, an experience many (but not all) workers share. And it’s wonderful to be able to discuss hobbies, like martial arts or the potential mental health benefits of microdosing, with co-workers. But drug use in meetings and pulverizing instead of debating our business rivals is going too far. Silicon Valley has a slew of problems ahead of it. Startups are collapsing. Large corporations are slashing their workforces. The future is quite uncertain. This is the time to focus on the business—to draw a clear line between recreation and work, and to honor it—before it becomes too late. Corporate America's Training Ground Amazon has a well-deserved reputation as a factory for executive talent, in sectors ranging from the cloud <https://url3396.theinformation.com/ls/click?upn=H96X59jl7qcPYFPKAjaAGjq1zMcqBuuRy89uedNrr9F00W9IJVqHeqLSQ7M5Zi5qF-2BM6b7JEPexVii2N2KadEOpJlNfWSa0U4zxluQw9CE6cHCvevhEPMOnGcXiqOHgsCsrZpJSjgN8-2B7sO4-2BZfrVxOngfKBhta5dZ8aYoIxdrl-2B127WiEAJDWHktlB622xKy-2BF-2B0FzCrlRUdoP5GYrBLEvk6Ml8SiQ2-2Fe27MakkjC8-3DiMIC_7mtmWTwWa9GEaImphuEDgxZMwWyMAXQumpMZuuANtmcADwCS6JYg4FDTVwT71vr31QVvZl34n6bROOxAiujVlZGfyFhYCgI7OFNrh-2B2hOGO6UkcaPIvfYnPjL69z2m6YhddithsXUPJZf7FeMOimzkS3-2FY0R0vu-2BSFXlwLy9wCp1tM5J80Zqc5TNOeQ0WeGbE-2F40BRjpy4zIydUyPz8yLsy0Po1D7tSi7iojZh2blgFpcseaOvj7IPvsroVngT-2B4P-2FsHRwDGlisLLeuvZEfoP757piNbsRAF3Nx50GLYvFcPu5xZnHY6yBylInIjkOv-2BBTUF-2Bf-2B7HlnkU5P1-2F40IWix2ehrqgFQAWlnEAE5mU4w-3D> to finance <https://url3396.theinformation.com/ls/click?upn=H96X59jl7qcPYFPKAjaAGjq1zMcqBuuRy89uedNrr9F00W9IJVqHeqLSQ7M5Zi5q3hEN5-2FqSHgXaUp5vSUsgC8voWLjmOhEk5-2Fql9CEp1bGcajkMBj112X4lWlPdjnUmMb1a453HfL0mNRMck21iPJpjfvjEEBbY4JgsK4pElBZoTnLU-2FWW-2FGI6prbjYDj5bVJsXOWG7gmFAxB1vok2B2Ru1bnQ-2FHU8Op2w0nt5sYc1rsDRlg63yY-2FCOcJpjmOGjpgEv_7mtmWTwWa9GEaImphuEDgxZMwWyMAXQumpMZuuANtmcADwCS6JYg4FDTVwT71vr31QVvZl34n6bROOxAiujVlZGfyFhYCgI7OFNrh-2B2hOGO6UkcaPIvfYnPjL69z2m6YhddithsXUPJZf7FeMOimzkS3-2FY0R0vu-2BSFXlwLy9wCp1tM5J80Zqc5TNOeQ0WeGbE-2F40BRjpy4zIydUyPz8yLhIJQ6ut8XuSpC0Z7Pn6dwDBkFfDIXDWVKPoXsm-2FSkBRWGt9B9bZv3IhXQlLsEMalP9xBex7dQF91SUi9XSdoz1Gxf1turyvQqCmB-2BdqFtHNcCyVJPIGawnvGxu3aDxUuR2-2BuH6-2FyMlMmKnioZKTMCQ-3D>. Lately, though, startups specializing in logistics—the science of getting packages to the right place on time—have been snapping up Amazonians. Today, for instance, logistics startup ShipBob hired Melissa Nick <https://url3396.theinformation.com/ls/click?upn=H96X59jl7qcPYFPKAjaAGukkkJ8pnP3vdGJtWQrrD7BraQAEt-2BP3xmvwassphWAxdXJSaFxkISrffP1Bhqz4vQ1M6vyieYUNr1ArO9p-2FeWI321bA3x2wtX0rouW129C-2FlhIx1DK8xQvcHTsBwI-2BCNDjcgTIEODU9-2FCreWxXNJxiRR52mihDYecyDYr-2BcTy6JhJpQLQSlZypkL5VogL8YkfzVDMxte0BBOPGyXYvmsN2ZzVpA1UU7FMM4rUuwu3Jy16rdQnPlnfVBePTZ4pf-2Fh-2Bbviq6vusdZePenkC3y-2F9OdbJVg-2B83neZ-2Bc-2FeMdC4XZ2s1PFww4DPJ5jJfEHgYTvw-3D-3DGGs5_7mtmWTwWa9GEaImphuEDgxZMwWyMAXQumpMZuuANtmcADwCS6JYg4FDTVwT71vr31QVvZl34n6bROOxAiujVlZGfyFhYCgI7OFNrh-2B2hOGO6UkcaPIvfYnPjL69z2m6YhddithsXUPJZf7FeMOimzkS3-2FY0R0vu-2BSFXlwLy9wCp1tM5J80Zqc5TNOeQ0WeGbE-2F40BRjpy4zIydUyPz8yLjY8FYy1jpsSIGUO0ngLpxNY5gxGpF4O1rHUlR6WXEVUmtTMYbXxKb-2FWyqZtPOgysC70vflfAR09dVUSHpKBhAN58T095PUVbTaoWi331sUDRNFFz1chNLNvPTPN9O0t6fvRw9YTAhQQv605ftj7fO4-3D>, previously vice president of Amazon’s North America customer fulfillment. Other members of the Amazon logistics diaspora include Dave Clark, who was one of Amazon’s top executives as CEO of worldwide consumer before quitting a year ago to become CEO of logistics firm Flexport. Clark then recruited some Amazon alumni, including Bill Driegert for its trucking product <https://url3396.theinformation.com/ls/click?upn=H96X59jl7qcPYFPKAjaAGrORuq4Mc2R5sitX3XpJJTnvebMa5rbyWFrIkifVBX36UUdCPAxMjubeIy6LiGIuo9-2BaT0S-2B2BVXpoT8nXqMn0Ga0XGC0tko0MYm7LzAR2ZMLkttM07zXUwfgsaiRYf3lJwmqpuYKf-2B8uCnikucc24ztvAILTzjSIzEjNqxFRrl-2BRAfcHgWV619i3KYs2APUbULOejfcUah-2F1d6LbJ0LfRjHGG4nvrA-2BvWaWiqCjSBKj-B_O_7mtmWTwWa9GEaImphuEDgxZMwWyMAXQumpMZuuANtmcADwCS6JYg4FDTVwT71vr31QVvZl34n6bROOxAiujVlZGfyFhYCgI7OFNrh-2B2hOGO6UkcaPIvfYnPjL69z2m6YhddithsXUPJZf7FeMOimzkS3-2FY0R0vu-2BSFXlwLy9wCp1tM5J80Zqc5TNOeQ0WeGbE-2F40BRjpy4zIydUyPz8yLnEUq8IL7JZEYSHTC5nQVUpo2KVSsqof-2BCHhfmnCsS9ksxyrHGdR7jFx3-2FB9eOqxEjFo2W7c2-2FVmBvVG9ibijF3z2VTBYNfe-2B4G62mmA1aFuZh1sOdwENBRk8aNV8bWdjVQYSXzeNmIoPw0VTbSh6UM-3D>. And Wei Huang, a former Amazonian, last year joined TikTok to lead its U.S. logistics operation (although Huang worked at Alibaba between Amazon and TikTok). Maybe for his next act, Jeff Bezos could start a university! —*Martin* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZops2DkqBG6QZSh3PREJc5t6-J4Urqfx6RM0o9fnYO0wmw%40mail.gmail.com.
