I recently read Sarah Wynn-Williams’ fascinating book about her role as Director of Public Policy for Facebook. Upon its publication, Careless People gained further publicity given that Facebook promised to take legal action—so I was very curious what would await me. Clearly, there is always subjectivity in how a single employee perceives a firm and its actions. And yet, given Wynn-Williams’ high-profile role and proximity to Facebook’s leadership over her six-year tenure, the book does provide important lessons.
In Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams offers a searing insider account of what happens when ambition outpaces ethics, and organizational culture is treated as an afterthought. As a global affairs executive at Facebook, she watched up close as a company with tremendous power and promise slowly lost its moral compass—perhaps because it had never developed a sturdy one to begin with.
Her reflections hold particular weight for those of us interested in the challenges of global work. Facebook wasn’t just an American social media firm—it was a global infrastructure, shaping discourse, democracy, and culture in over 100 countries. And yet, as Wynn-Williams reveals, the company operated with a stunning disregard for national nuances, cultural differences, or local legal frameworks.
Rather than building proximity with the world’s diverse stakeholders, Facebook chose scale. And in doing so, it missed the very human subtleties that are essential to leading responsibly in a global age.
Culture Without a Compass
One of the book’s most chilling themes is how easily an organizational culture can decay if not tended to deliberately. Wynn-Williams joined Facebook believing in its stated mission: to build community and bring the world closer together. But inside, she discovered a culture driven almost exclusively by growth metrics. Success was measured in billions of users, not the depth of user well-being. Power accrued to those who could move fast, not those who understood complexity.
Even when she and others raised red flags—about regulatory landmines in Europe, free speech challenges in Asia, or election interference risks across the globe—those warnings were often met with indifference, or worse, irritation. Cultural listening was a box to check, not a core value.
As the book details, Facebook’s actions in Myanmar—where hate speech on the platform fueled ethnic violence—and its regulatory clashes in China and the EU, were not the result of malice. They were the consequence of a deeper negligence: a refusal to believe that the world is more complex than a growth graph.
Global Work Requires Global Humility
Wynn-Williams’ story is a powerful reminder that organizations must earn their global legitimacy. That means listening, learning, and adjusting—not imposing. Two takeaways stand out for leaders navigating today’s global complexity:
- Defer to local cultural expertise.
Organizations serious about global impact must recognize that knowledge is distributed. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Whether navigating speech laws in Germany, privacy expectations in Brazil, or platform use in India, success requires proximity to local realities. That means hiring cultural intermediaries, empowering regional teams, and building strategy around local insight—not just HQ intuition. As I have shown in my own research, deferring to local expertise when you lack sufficient insight and networks is not only the right thing to do but ultimately also more sustainable. - Resist the temptation of power.
As technology makes it easier to influence elections, shape opinion, and bypass traditional regulators, companies like Facebook hold tools of unprecedented influence—but with great power comes the temptation to abuse it. In the AI era, many companies will wield this kind of soft power. If we want firms to be a force for good, we need stronger governance—externally from policymakers, and internally from leaders with moral clarity.
The Tragedy of Good Intentions
Wynn-Williams didn’t join Facebook to be part of a moral failure. Like many, she believed in the promise of technology to unite. But culture is not what we say—it’s what we permit. And in the absence of ethical leadership, even the brightest intentions can curdle into something corrosive.
For global leaders, her book is both a cautionary tale and a call to action. Building global organizations isn’t just about exporting products or scaling platforms. It’s about crafting cultures that travel well—because they’re rooted in respect, curiosity, and restraint.
It’s a reminder that proximity—true, thoughtful proximity to people, places, and principles—is not a barrier to growth. It’s the only way to grow with integrity.