More than 1,100 Uber employees jointly wrote a letter asking the board to "return" Kalanick

A few days ago, Uber investors' "forced abdication" of Kalanick was a play of "the king wants his subjects to die, and the subjects have to die", but the man who was determined by investors to leave got a reversal from Uber employees. According to foreign media reports, more than 1,100 Uber employees issued a joint letter to the company's board of directors, demanding that the CEO Travis Kalanick, who just left, "return to an operational position."

They believe that during their time working with Kalanick, they have seen his passion, vision and dedication to Uber. Although he has made mistakes, "no one is perfect", they believe that Kalanick can gradually become the leader they need, which is also critical to the company's future success. We look forward to your response and look forward to Travis' return to operations.

They also said that as people who have known Kalanick for many years, investors and board members should have protected the long-term interests of the company, but they were so "short-sighted" and "selfish", which made them very disappointed. In just less than 12 hours, the "joint letter" has received the support and participation of more than 1,100 employees. However, instead of really "signing", they just created a shared Google Doc document, and employees can log in and participate through Uber identity proof.

Currently, the number of employees participating in the joint letter has reached nearly 10% of Uber’s total employees (excluding drivers), and is still increasing.

In addition to company employees, Mood Rowghani, a partner at KPCB, a well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm and one of Uber's investors, also issued a statement saying that he supports letting Kalanick return to an operational position rather than just letting him stay on the board.

It is a very wrong idea to conclude that founders should not be involved in the operation and management of the company based solely on the example of Uber. Although the founders are responsible for establishing a sufficiently strong and independent board of directors and need the support of an experienced leadership team, the founder's DNA is also an important asset of the company that cannot be ignored. It is the founder's enthusiasm, strategic planning, encouragement and motivation for employees, and unremitting efforts to achieve goals that can make a startup burst with the vitality to defeat the old forces. Although not all founders have to play the role of CEO, several great companies such as Apple and Twitter have regretted it after cutting off ties with their founders.

It seems that despite all the mistakes, Kalanick's contributions to the company are still seen and remembered by many people. After all, he led Uber from an unknown startup to the world's most valuable unicorn. Next, it depends on how Uber's board of directors will deal with it.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.