Good
morning, Tuesday. It's soupy outside and I'm feeling the beginnings of summer
malaise setting in- and it's only June. Ugh. I'm not a hot and humid girl. I
have the vapors, and it's legit.
But besides the frizzy weather, I was listening to an amazing story last night on the radio (yes I listen to the radio) about Uber's valuation of (get ready for it) 18.2 billion dollars. 18.2 BILLION. Holy. Shit. That's a lot of cash for a young iPhone app, right?
The story said that Uber is now worth more than Hertz and Avis combined. When you look on the surface, it's hard not to scratch your head when you think about this- how on Earth could an App for a luxe real time car service be worth more than two tried and true war horses like Hertz and Avis? The reason is fairly simple, and not so revolutionary anymore- the valuation is based not on what the company is today, but what the company could become, in the future. In the tech world when smart people become millionaires and more commonly billionaires overnight, it's not because of what they have to offer in real time- think of Dr. Dre and Beats- Apple bought that company because they have something that Apple surely lacks for sure, but it's more about what Beats and Dre. could do for Apple in the future- from wireless headphones to changing the face of iTunes (when's the last time you listened to anything on there? Hmm? Thought so).
But back to Uber, of whose brand I am a fan, despite bloated surge pricing. It's a great idea and speaks to something bigger happening not just in New York City, but also in society. You may look at Uber and wonder how people are willing to pay such a premium for not much more than a taxi, but really it's not about that. The story I listened to shed light on the topic and said that model is not the one that will make Uber even more successful, but the notion of automated/ driverless cars will take them to another level. Because todays' young people don't have the same passion for driving and cars that we once did- there's going to be a time (in our lifetimes and soon) when services like Uber will be taking your kids to school, picking up your groceries, and driving you to dinner parties or job interviews. And in a NY Times piece about it, Andrew Ross Sorkin (who also mentioned the valuation may be too low) also mentioned how Uber could completely change shipping forever due to its powerful understanding of urban areas and grid systems. Regardless of whether this is all sounding completely too insane, the future for a company whose fiscal well being is steeped in transport has a huge opportunity, and that's where the valuation lies- in something that is not yet in our vernacular but will soon be a seamless part of our lives- robotic powered cars. (As someone who hates driving, this is quite the news).
But it's not the bit about nonhuman whips that had me riveted to this story; it was more about the kind of thinking that was happening in the world of finance and business. The very notion of future valuation and projection is no longer a conservative one- and though certainly not foolproof, I think that companies that can demonstrate the ability to revolutionize the way we do things in our everyday lives are going to be (more than) in the chips. Now how do we take this future thinking into our own lives? That's the big question.
To me, the best companies will hire you not because of what you've done, but because of what you will do in the future. How cutting edge are you? How much can you stretch your experience and insight to completely change the game? Where will you take your team in the years to come? These are things every smart organization should think about, but in a more human sense, we should think of ourselves this way.
If you begin to think about what your offer is and how you can capitalize your own unique journey into something revolutionary, then there's no stopping you. Because in order to move forward in life, love, or career, you need to think of yourself in a forward motion kind of way- you may be valued right now for what you do, but if you think about how you could parlay that into something much bigger or ahead of the pack, imagine how far you could go. I have a strong feeling that all of us really need to start thinking about the future in a very different way- how can we harness what we've done into something with a lot more equity? I'm not sure I know the answer yet, but I love that I'm being forced to ask the question. And true, life and business are different things, but innovation is something we should be thinking about in both to provide a more rich experience all around. It's true we are all trying to live more mindful and "present" lives (be here nowish), but it's hard to not think about the future, particularly when you are trying to craft big change.
With change happening so fast, it's very hard to even think about what's coming or what's to be. But if more people started being more forward thinking when it comes to assessing our vast and limitless potentials, we could get a lot done. And maybe bring about change that we so desperately need; and you just can't put a price on that. When we all start thinking about the possibilities and get fearless and creative, the opportunities are endless. To be successful these days, you have to take some very big leaps to get to the next level.
Cause that's what's up this assessment of a Tuesday in the 212. Yours, in projected self worth. XO