--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Interviewing one of Uber’s earliest…" description: "\"“Interviewing one of Uber’s earliest executives, who demonstrated the company’s route-finding algorithms with the unbridled enthusiasm of a small child..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f9/omar-el-akkad-14660_bottom-line_interviewing-one-of-uber-s-earliest-exec_150737.jpg" --- # Interviewing one of Uber’s earliest executives, who… ![“Interviewing one of Uber’s earliest executives, who demonstrated the company’s route-finding algorithms with the unbridled enthusiasm of a small child at Christmas, I couldn’t help but think what this company had really innovated was not some brilliant new solution to the traveling salesman…” quote by Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f9/omar-el-akkad-14660_bottom-line_interviewing-one-of-uber-s-earliest-exec_150737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f9/omar-el-akkad-14660_bottom-line_interviewing-one-of-uber-s-earliest-exec_150737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f9/omar-el-akkad-14660_bottom-line_interviewing-one-of-uber-s-earliest-exec_150737.jpg) > ““Interviewing one of Uber’s earliest executives, who demonstrated the company’s route-finding algorithms with the unbridled enthusiasm of a small child at Christmas, I couldn’t help but think what this company had really innovated was not some brilliant new solution to the traveling salesman problem, but the establishment of a new, lower norm of employee treatment. Success, growth, profit came from taking what might at one time have been decent, stable jobs and rebranding them as side hustles. The brilliant business idea was persuading people to expect less.”” [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Companies may lower employee expectations, turning stable jobs into precarious side gigs, prioritizing profit over wellbeing. **In simple terms:** Workplaces can exploit workers by reducing job security. Key Takeaway Beware of eroding employee standards. Themes labor rights gig economy corporate culture employee welfare profit motives Mood critical concerned Type analytical cautionary When to use this quote - startup hiring - corporate policy - employee contracts Key Concepts exploitation norm shifting job security Questions to Reflect On - What are the long‑term effects of treating jobs as side hustles? - How can companies maintain profit while respecting workers? A Different Perspective Balancing flexibility with fair treatment is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bottom line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom-line/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Employees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employees/) [Hustles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hustles-1677240/) [Interviewing Uber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interviewing-uber-1677238/) [Side Hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-hustle-221047/) [Solution Traveling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solution-traveling-1677239/) [Taxi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxi/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Traveling Salesman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveling-salesman-720616/) [Uber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uber/) [Uber Earliest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uber-earliest-1677237/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working/) ## Related quotes > [I had to learn the hard way. There was a blindness, without any education or will or drive. Everything I started in the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-dyrdek/i-had-to-learn-the-hard-way-there-was-a-blindness-without-any/) [Rob Dyrdek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-dyrdek/) > [Frugality was my side hustle. I was really good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sullivan/frugality-was-my-side-hustle-i-was-really-good-at-it/) [Chris Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sullivan/) > [Writing is a side hustle that had previously enabled me to pay for rehab for my brother, purchase a car for my parents, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-abrams/writing-is-a-side-hustle-that-had-previously-enabled-me-to-pay-for/) [Stacey Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-abrams/) > [I was broke. I literally was out of food and I had no options. All my side hustles just dried up. I couldn't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-roumie/i-was-broke-i-literally-was-out-of-food-and-i-had-no-options-all-my/) [Jonathan Roumie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-roumie/) > [Of course, I can only speak from my own experience but creating my social media side hustle is one of my happiest accidents. Whilst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-hope-fletcher/of-course-i-can-only-speak-from-my-own-experience-but-creating-my/) [Carrie Hope Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-hope-fletcher/) > [I had no money. I just figured out hustles to get by, like maybe selling my clothes. I wanted to travel around and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-fitzpatrick/i-had-no-money-i-just-figured-out-hustles-to-get-by-like-maybe/) [Leo Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-fitzpatrick/) > [Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/everything-comes-to-him-who-hustles-while-he-waits/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [“The stream that hustles us Neither nourishes nor heals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-stream-that-hustles-us-neither-nourishes-nor-heals/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Living New York, everyone has a million hustles, so I was doing party promoting, working the doors at parties, doing that whole nightlife thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cakes-da-killa/living-new-york-everyone-has-a-million-hustles-so-i-was-doing-party/) [Cakes da killa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cakes-da-killa/) > [“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits. —THOMAS EDISON”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-moore/everything-comes-to-him-who-hustles-while-he-waits-thomas-edison/) [Graham Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-moore/) > [I just figured out hustles to get by, like maybe selling my clothes. I wanted to travel around and be broke and live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-fitzpatrick/i-just-figured-out-hustles-to-get-by-like-maybe-selling-my-clothes-i/) [Leo Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-fitzpatrick/) > [When my dad was a traveling salesman we moved, I think, seven times before I was 14. There was no real home. Of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-doocy/when-my-dad-was-a-traveling-salesman-we-moved-i-think-seven-times/) [Steve Doocy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-doocy/) > [I am an author, and like many in my profession, I am also a traveling salesman, going all over in an attempt to persuade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-frazier/i-am-an-author-and-like-many-in-my-profession-i-am-also-a-traveling/) [Ian Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-frazier/) > [To get a traveling salesman drunk is the height of impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/to-get-a-traveling-salesman-drunk-is-the-height-of-impossibility/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [ The classes of problems which are respectively known and not known to have good algorithms are of great theoretical interest. \[...\] I conjecture that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-edmonds/the-classes-of-problems-which-are-respectively-known-and-not-known-to/) [Jack Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-edmonds/) ## More by Omar El Akkad > [“Beyond relief and recognition, there is a more complicated thing--an understanding that the machinery of the West has never had much of a capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/beyond-relief-and-recognition-there-is-a-more-complicated-thing-an/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“In a 2016 essay, the writer and former soldier Roy Scranton describes watching Star Wars while stationed in Baghdad. He is forced in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/in-a-2016-essay-the-writer-and-former-soldier-roy-scranton-describes/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“All these old men want it to be like it was when they were young. But it'll never be like that again, and they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/all-these-old-men-want-it-to-be-like-it-was-when-they-were-young-but/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“It amazed her, the length at which old men could talk. She wondered if it wasn't the sound of his own voice, rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/it-amazed-her-the-length-at-which-old-men-could-talk-she-wondered-if/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“You have to grow up, Sarat. You’re not a little girl anymore. Look, just try not to give anybody reason to make fun of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/you-have-to-grow-up-sarat-you-re-not-a-little-girl-anymore-look-just/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“You fight the war with guns, you fight the peace with stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/you-fight-the-war-with-guns-you-fight-the-peace-with-stories/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“Your side fought the war, but the war never happened to you. In the Red country the war happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/your-side-fought-the-war-but-the-war-never-happened-to-you-in-the-red/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“She wondered if all boys were like this, their meanness a self defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/she-wondered-if-all-boys-were-like-this-their-meanness-a-self-defense/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“It's not surprising, I don't think, that in the midst of this indiscriminate killing, many of the Westerners doing the most active work in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/it-s-not-surprising-i-don-t-think-that-in-the-midst-of-this/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“You got the sense from being around them that no war in the history of South Carolina had ever ended, that they were still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/you-got-the-sense-from-being-around-them-that-no-war-in-the-history/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“Rage wrapped itself around her like a tourniquet, keeping her alive even as it condemned a part of her to atrophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/rage-wrapped-itself-around-her-like-a-tourniquet-keeping-her-alive/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“But Palestinians do respond overwhelmingly with love. Just as the Indigenous populations of an entire hemisphere, subjected to the largest genocide in human history,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/but-palestinians-do-respond-overwhelmingly-with-love-just-as-the/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“I am back home by a riverbank and I am happy and I still lover her. My secret is that I still love her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/i-am-back-home-by-a-riverbank-and-i-am-happy-and-i-still-lover-her-my/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“One day this will end. In liberation, in peace, or in eradication at a scale so overwhelming it resets history. It’ll end when sanctions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/one-day-this-will-end-in-liberation-in-peace-or-in-eradication-at-a/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) > [“forehead understood—was that the misery of war represented the world’s only truly universal language. Its native speakers occupied different ends of the world, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-el-akkad/forehead-understood-was-that-the-misery-of-war-represented-the-world/) [Omar El Akkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) [Explore all 45 Omar El Akkad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-el-akkad/) ## More Bottom line quotes > [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/) > [Cheer up. You're not going to be single forever. Bottom line is, you're young. Don't base your future on your past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cheer-up-you-re-not-going-to-be-single-forever-bottom-line-is-you-re/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I plead with my Moonlight fans to give this show a chance if they let me give it a chance. I can’t do Moonlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-o-loughlin/i-plead-with-my-moonlight-fans-to-give-this-show-a-chance-if-they-let/) [Alex O'Loughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-o-loughlin/) > [Well, the bottom line is that I'm extremely pleased with 'The Stupids.' I'm pleased that it's coming out, and it should look good. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-landis/well-the-bottom-line-is-that-i-m-extremely-pleased-with-the-stupids-i/) [John Landis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-landis/) > [I would have had a clause in my contract; I would've definitely put some fine print in my contract that said, "If the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-budden/i-would-have-had-a-clause-in-my-contract-i-would-ve-definitely-put/) [Joe Budden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-budden/) > [The bottom line, in the professional level, no matter where you go, there's going to be competition. That's what it is. At the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-tolzien/the-bottom-line-in-the-professional-level-no-matter-where-you-go/) [Scott Tolzien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-tolzien/) > [The political satirist usually votes against their own interests, but the bottom line is that it doesn't really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-winstead/the-political-satirist-usually-votes-against-their-own-interests-but/) [Lizz Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-winstead/) > [I'm very grateful to be where I'm at and be able to play. That's really the bottom line for me. Survival and being able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/i-m-very-grateful-to-be-where-i-m-at-and-be-able-to-play-that-s/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Bottom line is, work ethic equals dreams, and I am walking proof that that's a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diamond-dallas-page/bottom-line-is-work-ethic-equals-dreams-and-i-am-walking-proof-that/) [Diamond Dallas Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diamond-dallas-page/) > [One of two things when the guy you're dating isn't really ready to commit. He's an a\*\*hole and he's cheating on you; bottom line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-catherwood/one-of-two-things-when-the-guy-you-re-dating-isn-t-really-ready-to/) [Michael Catherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-catherwood/) > [The bottom line on attitude is that a good one helps to increase your possibilities. Pessimists usually get what they expect. So do optimists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/the-bottom-line-on-attitude-is-that-a-good-one-helps-to-increase-your/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [If you look at the statistics, I genuinely understand why when we go to a production company or a broadcaster, and they say our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joivan-wade/if-you-look-at-the-statistics-i-genuinely-understand-why-when-we-go/) [Joivan Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joivan-wade/) > [With a reality show, the bottom line is, there's no plot; there's no finale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-gosselin/with-a-reality-show-the-bottom-line-is-there-s-no-plot-there-s-no/) [Kate Gosselin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-gosselin/) > [Two to 4% of cancers respond to chemotherapy…The bottom line is for a few kinds of cancer chemo is a life extending procedure-Hodgkin's disease,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-moss/two-to-4-of-cancers-respond-to-chemotherapy-the-bottom-line-is-for-a/) [Ralph W. Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-moss/) > [The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-bottom-line-is-that-a-people-are-never-perfect-but-love-can-be-b/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 942 Bottom line quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom-line/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Interviewing one of Uber’s earliest executives, who demonstrated the company’s route-finding algorithms with the unbridled enthusiasm of a small child at Christmas, I couldn’t help but think what this company had really innovated was not some brilliant new solution to the traveling salesman problem, but the establishment of a new, lower norm of employee treatment. 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