Book Review - The Cult of We by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell

This morning, I finished Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell’s The Cult of We, a cautionary tale about the excesses of Silicon Valley, told through the rise and fall of WeWork and its charismatic yet chaotic founder, Adam Neumann. This gripping narrative offers a behind-the-scenes look at how hype, hubris, and a culture of unchecked ambition turned a simple office subleasing company into a global phenomenon worth $47 billion—at least on paper.

At the heart of this 420-page book is Adam Neumann, a towering figure with big hair, bigger promises, and a penchant for charisma over substance. Neumann envisioned WeWork as more than a real estate company; it was a movement, a community, and even, in his words, a means to “elevate the world’s consciousness.” But beneath the lofty rhetoric lay a glaring reality: WeWork was hemorrhaging cash, losing more than $1.6 billion in a single year.

Neumann’s antics were as eccentric as they were troubling. He was perpetually late to meetings, often called impromptu gatherings with alcohol flowing freely, and once used bottles to shatter a glass wall during a moment of inebriation. He even had his employees barefoot at certain events to embody the “grounded” culture he envisioned. His combination of charm and chaos captivated investors, including SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, who poured billions into the company despite its obvious flaws.

One of the book’s recurring themes is the danger of unchecked growth fueled by starry-eyed investors. Neumann convinced Wall Street that WeWork wasn’t just a real estate company but a tech startup, deserving tech-like valuations. At its peak, WeWork was valued at $47 billion, despite the fact that comparable, more experienced startups had valuations four times smaller while operating profitably. As Brown and Farrell, both esteemed journalists for The Wall Street Journal note, “All the hype in the world doesn’t matter in the long run if a business isn’t making a profit.”

The book delves into the financial absurdities, such as Neumann’s habit of leasing properties to WeWork that he personally owned, pocketing millions in the process. Then there’s the infamous “community-adjusted EBITDA,” a creative accounting measure that bordered on the ridiculous, excluding standard costs like rent from financial projections.

There was the part he met with Elon Musk. The exchange he reported he had with the super-billionaire made me laugh out loud. What did Musk tell Neumann? I won’t tell you. Read the book.

The book sheds light on the dangers of a weak corporate board that enabled Neumann’s excesses. With little oversight, Neumann was free to pursue his grandiose vision, often at the expense of practical business considerations. Brown and Farrell highlight how the lack of accountability allowed Neumann and Son to operate like a “combustible combination” where “pieces moved as they wanted.”

The storytelling shines in moments of high drama, particularly in Chapter 27, where the authors describe the unraveling of WeWork with such vivid detail that it feels like a cinematic thriller. The suspense is relentless as the S-1 filing—a public document meant to take WeWork public—exposed the company’s financial and cultural absurdities, leading to its spectacular collapse.

The book’s ultimate message is one of caution. “The real story is that we never learn anything from history,” the authors write, pointing out that WeWork is far from an anomaly. Another WeWork, fueled by hype and bullish, growth-obsessed investors, will likely emerge, leading many to financial ruin while a select few profit immensely. In fact, since the book was written, we have seen similar stories like that of Nikola.

Brown and Farrell’s The Cult of We reads like a drama-packed movie, with twists, turns, and suspense that keep you hooked until the last page. It’s a masterclass in understanding the pitfalls of modern capitalism, the cult of the visionary founder, and the dangers of prioritizing hype over substance. For anyone interested in the intersection of business, psychology, and cautionary tales, this book is a must-read.

As one reviewer puts it, the book is “Shocking, fun, insane, all in one.” This is likely to be one of those books you’d read and come back to say I know how to pick a great read.