Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Leading with empathy | Keith Yandell (DoorDash, Uber)

Feb 9, 2023

Keith Yandell, a seasoned leader from DoorDash with a rich background in legal and HR, shares his insights on leading with empathy. He discusses the WeDash program, which encourages employees to deliver food to better understand customers. The conversation delves into the significance of transparency in leadership and effective one-on-one meetings for career development. Yandell emphasizes the power of empathy in decision-making, especially when balancing profitability and growth, and offers valuable advice for founders on team dynamics and resource allocation.

55:51

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Episode guests

Keith Yandell

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Perseverance and unwavering belief in the business are crucial for founders to overcome challenges and setbacks.

Transparent and open communication, exemplified by creating a 'How to Work with Keith' document, fosters a culture of growth and feedback.

Leading through challenging times builds discipline, focuses on unit economics, attracts top talent, and creates a singularity of focus for exceptional performance.

Deep dives

The Importance of Resilience and Drive

In this podcast episode, the speaker emphasizes the criticality of persevering and staying motivated even when facing rejection and adversity. They share a personal experience of being on the verge of running out of resources and being told 'no' by multiple venture capitalists. It was the founder's unwavering drive and belief in the business that kept them going. The speaker explains that being a true founder means finding a way forward, regardless of the challenges and setbacks faced.

The Power of a Transparent Leadership Philosophy

04:05

Advice for Founders Facing Fundraising Challenges

03:30

The Importance of Perseverance in Business

00:34

Leading Disparate Teams at DoorDash

03:06

Intro

4min

Building Connections at DoorDash

21min

Operationalizing Career Development in One-on-One Meetings

2min

The Power of Empathy in Decision-Making

3min

Navigating Collaborative Decision-Making

2min

The Art of One-on-One Meetings

6min

Cultivating Urgency and Resilience in Business

18min

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Keith Yandell started at DoorDash as Chief Legal Officer and during his tenure has also led the HR, Customer Support, Marketing, and now Corporate Development teams. In today’s episode, we talk about leadership, and how to lead with empathy. We dig into DoorDash’s unique culture and touch on the WeDash program, which requires every employee to complete four deliveries a year in order to better understand the customer experience. Keith shares his “How to Work with Keith” document and discusses the importance of openness in the workplace. He also gives some tips for founders on hiring, engaging with legal, and how to make big decisions when teams are competing for resources.

Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leading-with-empathy-keith-yandell-doordash-uber/#transcript

Where to find Keith Yandell:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kdyandell

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yandell-2a947432/

Where to find Lenny:

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

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

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

Referenced:

• Gokul Rajaram on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/gokul-rajaram-on-designing-your-product-development-process-when-and-how-to-hire-your-first-pm-a-playbook-for-hiring-leaders-getting-ahead-in-you-career-how-to-get-started-angel-investing-more/

• Ryan Sokol on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-sokol-00b2333/

• Tony Xu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xutony/

• About WeDash: https://doordash.news/culture/wedash-doordash-employee-program-how-does-it-work/

• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484

• How to be successful working with Keith doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12yTpBZFab6SPAruSpSD6CB_qLOu5L8kpQ4CCmX9pDx4/edit?mode=html

• Kofi Amoo-Gottfried on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kofi-amoo-gottfried-3802bb3/

• Tia Sherringham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiasherringham/

• Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity: https://www.amazon.com/Amp-Unlocking-Hypergrowth-Expectations-Intensity/dp/1119836115

• Ted Lasso’s quote on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TedLasso/status/1426932132417576967

• Rajat Shroff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajatshroff/

• Micah Moreau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micahmoreau/

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Keith’s background

(03:41) The time Keith asked a potential hire if he was an a*****e

(06:39) DoorDash culture

(08:40) The WeDash program

(13:16) How Keith was able to lead so many different teams at DoorDash

(16:08) Hiring the best experts and then getting out of their way

(18:21) The “How to Work with Keith” document

(21:52) How and why Keith helps his employees land new jobs

(27:22) How he leverages empathy to unify board members

(29:26) The importance of assigning a decision maker and a time horizon for the decision

(31:15) One-on-ones with Keith, and the T3 B3 framework from Uber

(33:12) How to encourage constructive criticism from employees

(34:49) What it’s like to lead in tough times and why it can actually make your org stronger

(37:42) How creating urgency compounds gains

(39:11) IPO day at DoorDash

(40:20) The characteristics of top founders

(41:33) How the pandemic impacted DoorDash

(44:40) Advice for new parents that is applicable in business

(45:24) The difficulty of gaining funding

(46:58) Advice for founders struggling with fundraising

(48:02) How Keith developed a strong relationship with the VP of Product and Design

(50:27) Building an effective BD team within a product company

(52:36) How to engage with legal teams

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Leading with empathy | Keith Yandell (DoorDash, Uber)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Importance of Resilience and Drive

The Power of Transparent Leadership

Navigating Tough Times and Cultivating Resilience

Building Trust through Transparency and Career Development

Creating Effective Decision-Making Processes and Building Empathy

The Power of a Transparent Leadership Philosophy

Advice for Founders Facing Fundraising Challenges

The Importance of Perseverance in Business

Leading Disparate Teams at DoorDash

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts