What Uber tells us about us

The Uber case in Delhi has opened up many dimensions of business, society and governance that we need to now question. It is a shame that it had to happen in the circumstances that it happened in but somewhere in the annals of time this will be an entry that we can look back to regard as one that really shook up things.

Uber, as we know it today, is something I haven’t been able to get my head around. Simply put, it helps you find a taxi when you need it. Anyone who has lived in Delhi or for that matter anywhere in Urban India will remember the neighbourhood ‘Bhatta Sahib’ and ‘Ranjit Bros’ taxi stands which existed in the vicinity of virtually every colony. They smiled at you when you passed by to fetch your groceries in the mornings and most probably also knew your name and family. So the service was personal and on-demand. For that reason, I don’t understand the big deal with this app. That said, it is a disruptive model now that we can see the kind of disruption it has caused – all the way from the US to Singapore via Germany and India. But what does it tell us about us?

For one, it has changed the way we look at businesses and the way businesses look at long term existence. The way we interact with and treat brands has changed. Increasingly unconsciously we conclude that the way our Facebook timeline moves is the way the wind blows. So what we see on Facebook becomes the truth of the world. The more we see of something on Facebook, the more believable and trustworthy it subliminally becomes. New brands are able to make their way into public consciousness by just being there. Uber, if you ask me, is half that and half real disruption. The sheer amount of PR value that Uber has been able to create in the past few months has in a large part contributed to an almost blind-sided consumer view of it. I fell prey to it too. Even downloading it and almost using it some months back just because I read so much about it and the ‘disruptive’ business model it had created. Without due diligence I went ahead and believed in it. This is not to say that it’s a bad model but when an unknown (almost ambiguous) model comes along, it is best to embrace it but not at breakneck speed.

Businesses, when we were taught in school which is not a long time back, are built with the intention of lasting. We are in an age when economic cycles resemble the back of a double humped camel, when billion dollar startup valuations are becoming par for the course, stock brokers can bring down entire economies and still run scot free and governments live from one poll to another. Listed companies face severe pressures from Wall Street and startups set up, expand, owners make money and leave. Changing the world, one year at a time, is not on anybody’s agenda.

Various studies, one of them by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the likelihood of a startup surviving to age 10 at 35%. At the risk and liberty of exercising my free will, I am sure that of the remaining 65% a majority shut down only after their founders have sufficiently stocked up their retirement plans by either owing real estate in downtown Manhattan or put their name on an island. That is mere middle class speculation but the point is that it appears that businesses view the world as a finite entity that might get hit by an asteroid any time so they need to make as much money as possible in as little time as possible. And if it’s not an asteroid, it may be a drone with a mind of its own.

I have nothing against Uber or any swashbuckling startup, rather I am nothing against these billion dollar giants but it is in our interest to be extremely critical in the way we evaluate the world around us. In a headline dominated environment, the real text gets bypassed. The sheer amount of lives and livelihoods dependent on responsible and long term business is enough to warrant a very critical evaluation of this new business environment. For instance lawyers, instead of trying to slot a new age criminal (or otherwise) offence in the existing framework of laws and punishments must come up and continuously work with governments in recommending and drafting new laws that are a step ahead of new age business so that ‘disruptive’ business models are not able to game the system. As consumers we must ensure that we keep businesses on their toes – rewarding a great product or service with appreciation and tearing the house down with seething criticism on a bad service delivery. That in itself will set the right benchmark for any business wanting to make it in the long term.

For now I hope governments can make peace with Uber so that more of the real estate in the press can focus on real news. I hope that lawmakers are tuned in to technology and are disrupting law making itself! I also hope that an asteroid never hits the earth.