Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, discusses leading with care, overcommunication, and treating a company as a community. They explore the importance of trust, transparency, empathy, and redefining work-life balance in corporate settings.
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Quick takeaways
Emphasize trust within employees to navigate tough times with care and transparency.
Create extraordinary and immersive experiences for guests through innovative concepts like the Icon Collection.
Deep dives
Brian Chesky's Journey from Designer to Airbnb CEO
Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, shares his journey from being a designer to leading a global hospitality brand. Starting from his days at RISD, where the idea for Airbnb emerged during a design conference in San Francisco, he recalls the humble beginnings of turning their home into a bed and breakfast. Trust has been a crucial element in his leadership approach, focusing on creating a system of trust within Airbnb's community, resonating both with guests opening their homes and employees trusting their leader.
Navigating Leadership Through Crisis - The Airbnb Layoff Decision
Brian Chesky reflects on the challenging decisions faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the crisis's impact on Airbnb's business. Facing a significant drop in business and the impending need for layoffs, Chesky emphasized transparency, empathy, and procedural justice in his approach. By prioritizing principles like preserving cash, acting with stakeholders in mind, and playing to win the future travel season, Chesky navigated the crisis with a compassionate, thoughtful strategy, demonstrating a human-centered leadership style.
Creating Extraordinary Experiences with Airbnb's Icon Collection
Brian Chesky unveils Airbnb's innovative concept of providing extraordinary experiences through the Icon Collection, where guests can step into the worlds of iconic movies, TV shows, sports, and more. From recreating Disney's Pixar Up's flying house to the Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse, Chesky's vision transforms imaginative settings into tangible, immersive experiences. By bridging the gap between fantasy and reality, Airbnb's Icon Collection offers guests a chance to live within their favorite stories, fostering a unique and unforgettable travel experience.
Rhythmic Alignment and Organizational Coordination at Airbnb
Brian Chesky discusses the importance of establishing a rhythm within Airbnb to align and coordinate the organization effectively. By structuring regular reviews and setting major product launch deadlines twice a year, Chesky creates a shared sense of purpose and unity among employees. This rhythm not only guides the company's focus and energy but also offers employees clear milestones and a predictable cadence, fostering collaboration and mutual engagement across the organization.
Brian Chesky, the CEO and cofounder of Airbnb, is firmly in the trust business. His focus isn't only on building a trusted platform for people to rent their homes to strangers — it's on earning the trust of his employees. Adam and Brian discuss how to lead with care in tough times, why it's better to overcommunicate than undercommunicate, what to expect for the future of work, and why a company should be treated as a community rather than a family. Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts
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