Life Lessons from inside my Uber
As a bicycle-commuting young professional living downtown, there are very few occasions I am forced to sit, for an extended period of time, with another complete stranger without the forethought or intention to connect or network with them in some way. Riding in an Uber (or taxi), is one of those few exceptions in my life where I am forced to do that just that.
Interestingly, it is here, under the (expectedly uncomfortable) conditions of forced human interaction, that I have had some of my best conversations, and have gleaned some of life’s most important lessons.
This morning, for instance, I found myself running late to a meeting a little bit outside of the city. I had opted not to bike as I did not want to arrive drenched in sweat, and so had decided to take the subway. Oops, turns out I got on the wrong subway, and then upon finally arriving at the right subway line, found out that it (obviously) had delays. Sigh. So I decided to make the game-time decision to call an Uber rather than taking the subsequent bus after my subway ride to ensure that I’d arrive at my meeting on time. Luckily, I arrived with moments to spare, and with a goody-bag of lessons from the ride.
Choice is overwhelming, and hesitation is costly
Before coming to a decision to call my Uber, I wavered back and forth, dilly-dallying on every decision. What stop I should get off at? Should I just take the bus? Should I walk? Uber Pool or Uber X? Where should I walk to? Is that too long of a wait time? Should I call a taxi instead? Which would be cheaper? Which would be faster? Having to decide so many things under the strain of limited time resources can be burdensome. This of course, is reflective of choice overload. Sometimes, it appears, less is actually more. It turns out that hesitating is also costly, as the price of my Uber increased by 20 cents due to my wishy-washiness, and the time that could have been spent getting me to my destination was instead spent standing anxiously at a curb, staring at my phone.
In life, we are faced with countless decisions every day. What we don’t see is that whenever we fail to choose, or hesitate before choosing, we pay an opportunity cost that may or may not be significant. Yes, 20 cents might not be a big deal. But the difference between hesitating 10 years to save for retirement, starting at age 35 rather than age 25, could result in exponential loss. It’s good that we are mindful enough to consider the possibilities, but what use is it if we do nothing about it? Knowledge without action is useless.
As long as you stay the course, you’ll get to your destination
Though I was stressed about making it to my meeting on time, my driver greeted me with a smile, which reminded me to relax. The map on his phone switched to plot our route, and I immediately felt better.
Seeing not only the end goal, but our pathway to get there, made me feel reassured that every move we made meant we were one closer to my destination. Sometimes the path would recalculate along the way, but I felt comforted knowing that we were always taking the most optimal route.
Much like in life, keeping an eye on our destinations (whether dreams or goals) is just the first step. How can we ensure we get there if we don’t have a plan? Action without knowledge is dangerous. We need to plot our route with the actionable items that will be instrumental in taking us to where we want to go, allowing us to reassess our progress such that we can optimize or better our pathway.
It’s better with friends
On our way, we both laughed about the terrible Toronto traffic and shared our grievances with construction and the forever aggressive drivers/cyclists/pedestrians. Despite originally feeling stressed about getting to my meeting on time, I was able to momentarily forget my worries and just appreciate the moment for what it was. It turns out every journey is better when it’s shared. Most of the time, though we may feel like we’re alone, the reality is that there are often a million other people who are going through the exact same experience; a potential community of individuals that we can lean on, learn from, and root for. After all, we’re all sharing this road of life, with our own beginnings, and destinations. Why not make it a little more enjoyable and bearable for all of us?
Human relationships are at the heart of every disruptive innovation
Uber is one of the hottest, fastest growing technology companies of our time. But what I believe truly has been critical to their success and traction is not their sexy tech or inventive business model. Rather, it’s that, when boiled down to its core, Uber serves a very simplistic function: it brings people together. In a world so seemingly “connected,” we are starting to grow disconnected from each other. More and more, I’m understanding that we have this unspoken longing to be heard, and to be cared for. We’re so overstimulated that a lot of this stays buried deep within us.
But see, it is unbelievable the things you learn and can understand when you abstract away from the noise and just listen to people and their dreams/wants/needs/desires. We’re all just trying to get somewhere. I have always been so blown away and humbled by the lives of my Uber drivers. As a rider, it is easy to peg someone as a blue collar “driver,” and nothing more, (much like how as a kid, I thought my teachers were teachers 24/7 and did nothing else.) It is so humbling to hear from these individuals and their stories. Today, my driver was a startup founder, much like myself. In the past, I’ve had drivers that just recently moved to Canada, and worked several other jobs in order to provide a better life for their families, drivers that were small business owners, drivers that were pursuing higher education, and drivers that drove simply because they loved meeting and interacting with people.
Working on my company, I’ve learned time and time again that technology comes second, and people come first. It is so important to get outside the building and talk to users because it is truly impossible to understand exactly what someone is going through or has gone through just by looking at them. How can we possibly build something impactful if we do not understand our users inside and out?
Lastly, through my Uber experiences, I’ve learned that kindness and respect go a long way. It is not the slick sexy app interface that personally keeps me coming back. It is the repeated positive interactions I’ve had with many of my drivers, that prompt me to refer friends to the service and come back, time and time again. People may not remember what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel.
Practice what you preach
At Vicis Labs, it is our mandate to bake these insights into our core. Our users are our top priority, and through Sprout, our mission is to empower them with the necessary tools they need in order to achieve their financial goals and arrive at the destinations they’ve only ever dreamed of. Will you be joining us for the ride?
