Introducing the Atrium "Start With You" Book Club! Hear from Atrium Management Company's owners, Adam Wonus and Michael Krause, on their book recommendations for each month.
Q: Who recommended this book? Why?
Michael: Adam, because he couldn’t put it down.
Adam: One of my friends in Birmingham (Matthew Whitaker) wrote a post on LinkedIn talking about how he couldn’t put it down. I downloaded it immediately and felt the same way once I started!
Q: What lesson(s) did you learn from the book & how will you apply it to your business?
Michael: There is no substitute for passion and hard work. Those two things combined can overcome almost any opposition or insurmountable odds.
Adam: This book reinforced looking for ways to shake up our industry (Property Management). What Uber has done around the world to our transportation system is unbelievable. It should also remind leaders around the country to control their arrogance. While what Travis accomplished is amazing, he failed to get those closest to him to rally behind his cause and was ultimately removed from a company he grew to a valuation of roughly 69 billion dollars. That would have been tough to swallow as a founder.
Q: What is your number one takeaway from this book?
Michael: As your company grows, you need to grow as well. If you want to remain the leader of your organization you have to adapt, to become the new leader that your business demands. If you do not grow and change personally, you run the risk of your business outgrowing you.
Adam: Love what you do, who you do it with and where you do it. The culture at Uber became so toxic that it was Travis’s ultimate downfall. This also reminded me that some of the stress I carry is not nearly as tough as some of things Uber was going through as a leadership team. They caused so much disruption to an industry that people were committing suicide as a result of their creation. I can’t imagine having the added pressure of dealing with those types of circumstances.