Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Brian Chesky’s new playbook

Nov 12, 2023

Brian Chesky, Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, shares insights from his journey in transforming the hospitality industry. He discusses Airbnb’s shift in product management, tackling the pitfalls of bureaucracy while fostering team collaboration. Chesky unveils innovative strategies that focus on product excellence over traditional marketing and highlights new features aimed at enhancing user experience. He emphasizes the importance of setting ambitious goals for his team and the continuous pursuit of personal growth, proving there's always more to achieve.

01:13:28

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Episode guests

Brian Chesky

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Quick takeaways

Clarity and alignment are essential for founders to balance their vision for the company with the goals and desires of their team

Leaders should not shy away from being involved in the details, as understanding the intricacies of the work leads to more effective guidance and management of teams

Airbnb reimagined product management by combining inbound development with marketing, focusing on senior, cohesive product stories and promoting cross-functional collaboration

Deep dives

Building Clarity and Avoiding Misery in Company Leadership

Founders often compromise between their vision for the company and the desires of their team, leading to dissatisfaction. The key is to provide clarity and align everyone's efforts in the same direction.

Pushing people to think bigger gets them to think in first principles

01:05

How Division and Politics Emerge in a Corporation

01:37

Extreme management

03:17

Founders giving control to the people, what happens next

02:38

Intro

5min

Redefining Product Management: Integration and Influence at Airbnb

5min

Navigating Growth and Bureaucracy

23min

Innovative Growth Strategies Through Team Unity and Experimentation

6min

Enhancing Airbnb: Innovations for Reliability and Experience

11min

Navigating Work-Life Balance in Leadership

15min

From Childhood Creativity to Airbnb

8min

Brian Chesky is the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. Under Brian’s leadership, Airbnb has grown into a community of over 4 million hosts who have welcomed more than 1.5 billion guests across over 220 countries and regions. I had the privilege of working under his leadership, so it is a great honor to have him on the show. We discuss:

• How Airbnb has shifted their thinking on product management

• Why bureaucracy happens in companies, and how to avoid it

• The importance of founders diving into the details

• Why Airbnb moved away from traditional growth channels and what they are doing instead

• Airbnb’s newly released features

• How and why Brian encourages his team to set ambitious goals

• Why he says he still has a lot to prove

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/brian-cheskys-new-playbook/#transcript

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Where to find Brian Chesky:

• X: https://twitter.com/bchesky

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianchesky/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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