Hollywood would have you believe the best things come in threes. That’s why it’s obsessed with making everything and anything a trilogy. In some ways, it’s the perfect way to tell the story of WeWork.
- Act 1 is the departure, where the hero, Adam Neumann, receives a call to adventure — to elevate the world’s consciousness (lol) — leaves their home and embarks on a quest.
- In Act 2, the hero enters a new world where they face challenges and learn new things until they conquer their adversary and gain the object of their quest. In this case, Neumann taking WeWork to a valuation of $47 billion.
- And in Act 3, the hero returns home bringing something that will help the community, thanks to the experiences they had and the wisdom they gained. Unfortunately, WeWork went off-script here.
Well, consider this my WeWork trilogy. In WeWorked, Until It Didn’t, I looked at how Adam Neumann instead destroyed his company, became filthy rich, and went out on the comeback tour, sucking up yet more VC dollars. In WeBroke, I wrote about the struggles the company has faced in its failed attempts to rehabilitate. And now, in the third act, we’re forgoing the Hollywood happy ending.