Adam’s $47 Billion Dollar Ego Trip

In 2019, WeWork was valued at $47 billion. Its founder, Adam Neumann, wasn’t just selling office space; he was “elevating the world’s consciousness.” 🙄 When the company was skyrocketing, the narrative from the top was clear: This success was due to Neumann’s singular genius, his “energy,” and his disruptive vision for the future of work. That is the first half of the Self-Serving Bias—the tendency to attribute all positive outcomes to our own internal traits. But when the IPO failed and the valuation plummeted to nearly zero, the story changed. Suddenly, it wasn’t a failure of leadership or a flawed business model. It was: ​ The “unfair” scrutiny of the media. The “bad timing” of the market. The “lack of understanding” from investors. ​ This is the second half of the bias: shifting the blame to external factors to protect the ego. ​ Let’s dive in.

🧐 The Psychology of the Self Serving Bias

The self-serving bias is our tendency to take personal credit for success but blame external factors for failure.

Research shows this plays out everywhere:

Workers attribute promotions to their hard work and skill, but blame unfair bosses when they’re passed over.

Athletes claim personal responsibility when they win, but point to bad luck or poor conditions when they lose.

Drivers credit their alertness for avoiding accidents, but blame the weather, other drivers, or car problems when crashes happen.

Why do we do this?

Self-enhancement: We’re motivated to protect our self-worth. Taking credit for success boosts our ego. Accepting blame for failure threatens it. Studies show we engage in self-serving bias more for outcomes that actually matter to us—when our identity is on the line.

Self-presentation: We want to look good to others. Claiming responsibility for wins and deflecting blame for losses helps us manage how we’re perceived. Of course, this is a balancing act—claim too much credit and you’re a braggart.

The Kicker: we’re not always consciously manipulating the truth.

Our brains genuinely trick us into believing our self-serving stories.

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​🧠 Inside Your Viewer’s Mind

When a video flops, you might blame:

• The algorithm
• Posting at the wrong time
• A bad thumbnail
• Your audience not understanding your genius

But viewers? They’re simple. Either your video engaged them or it didn’t.

They don’t see the algorithm. They don’t know when you posted. They just know whether they clicked, and whether they stayed.

The self-serving bias blinds you to the real issue: the content itself.

🎓 Now How Do We Apply This to Video?

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When it comes to Strategy:

Let’s say your latest video tanks.

The Complex Explanation (Self-Serving Bias): ​
• “YouTube is shadowbanning me.
• The algorithm hates my content.
• My audience doesn’t appreciate good storytelling anymore.
• I need to completely reinvent my strategy.”

The Simple Truth: ​
• You rushed the script.
• The hook was weak.
• The pacing dragged in the middle.
• You weren’t very confident on camera.
• The topic wasn’t as compelling as you thought.

Research calls this “The Algorithm Spiral”
Creators invent complex external narratives to avoid the truth: the video just wasn’t good enough.

The fix? Stop chasing ghosts. 👻

Ask yourself: What is the simplest reason someone wouldn’t want to watch this?
​Then fix that.

Before you blame the platform, the audience, or the stars not aligning.

When it comes to Story:

The self-serving bias also affects how you evaluate your own storytelling.

When a story lands, you think: “I’m a great storyteller. I nailed that metaphor.”

When it flops, you think: “The audience wasn’t ready for this. They didn’t get it.”

But viewers aren’t the problem. Your story structure probably was.

Check out my YouTube videos below to help you with your Story Structure!

Instead of blaming viewers, ask:

• Did I actively engage them in the first 10 seconds?
• Did every scene/chapter move the story forward?
• Was there unnecessary fluff that slowed the pace?
• Did I clearly deliver on the promise I made in the title/thumbnail?

The self-serving bias whispers: “They’re the problem.”
Reality says: “Fix the story.”

When it comes to Confidence:

Here is where the Self-Serving Bias gets sneaky.

When you freeze on camera, stumble over a line, or forget your point, your brain spirals:
“I’m not cut out for this. I look like a fraud. Everyone will see right through me.”

That’s the flip side of the self-serving bias—when something goes wrong, you internalize it as a character flaw instead of a simple mistake.

Complex thought: “I am not cut out for this.”
Simple truth: “I have a human brain and slip-ups are normal.”

Take a breath. Give yourself grace. Keep going.
☝️ This is definitely an Occam’s Razor approach to the problem.

Remember: you blame external factors when your videos fail, but you should extend that same generosity to yourself when you stumble on camera.

🌶️ In A Spicy Nutshell

The self-serving bias is a silent killer of growth.

It lets you celebrate wins without learning from losses. It lets you blame ghosts instead of fixing problems.

To break free:

• When a video succeeds, ask: “What did I do right that I can repeat?”
• When a video flops, ask: “What did I do wrong that I can fix?”
• Stop blaming the algorithm, the audience, or bad luck
• Start taking honest responsibility for both your wins AND your losses

Because here’s the truth: if you’re responsible for the flop, you’re also capable of creating the hit.

Until next time, own your outcomes. 🌶
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