Combatting the Slow Decline of Service Quality Through Customer Obsession

This month, we're highlighting some of the best conversations from the 2025 HBR Leadership Summit held in April. In this episode, David Risher, CEO of Lyft, shares how he’s driving a turnaround at the rideshare company by anchoring everything in customer obsession. Since Risher took the wheel in 2023, Lyft reached record bookings and a 31% increase in annual revenue and its first full year of profitability. Risher shares how his own experience behind the wheel as a Lyft driver informs product innovation. And why listening deeply—whether to a single passenger or a room of drivers—can lead to breakthrough ideas. He also opens up about navigating layoffs, launching inclusive features, and preparing for an autonomous future while keeping human dignity front and center.