Uber Strategy Case: Pick the Highest-Stakes Problem and Plan the Fix

In your view, what is the single most important problem Uber faces, and how would you address it? Commit to one problem, justify why it matters more than the alternatives, and lay out a plan to solve it, including how you would measure whether the plan works. ```hint Define biggest before choosing Agree on how you will judge "biggest" (harm to riders, drivers and the business; how soon it bites; whether a product team can act on it) and test a few candidates against that yardstick before committing to one. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the scope Uber as a whole, or one business such as ride-hailing, food delivery or freight? - Which time horizon counts: problems hurting Uber over the next year or two, or threats a decade out such as driverless vehicles? - Should the answer focus on one market, or on Uber's business worldwide? - Is a company-strategy problem acceptable, or should it be one a product team can own and solve? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Explicit criteria for "biggest" and a short list of candidates spanning riders, drivers and couriers, and the business, with reasons for the pick. - A chosen problem grounded in how Uber's two-sided marketplace works, with root causes and the data that would confirm its size. - Solutions mapped to those root causes and prioritized by impact, cost and speed. - Success metrics with guardrails, a way to test changes in a marketplace where riders and drivers affect each other, and risks such as regulation, cost and competition. ### Follow-up Questions - The interviewer argues that driverless vehicles, not your problem, are Uber's biggest threat. How do you respond, and does your plan change? - Your highest-impact solution raises Uber's cost per trip. How would you decide whether it is worth it? - How would you test your solution when changing things for some drivers in a city affects every rider and driver there?