Brian Chesky’s new playbook

Name: Brian Chesky’s new playbook
Uploaded: 2023-11-12T12:00:05.000Z
Duration: 2 h 26 min 28 s

Founders' Approach to Running a Company

In this section, the speaker discusses the common tendency of founders to compromise their vision for running a company. The importance of clarity and alignment within the organization is emphasized.

Founders' Apologies and Clarity

Many founders apologize for their preferred way of running a company, trying to find a midpoint between their approach and what others want.

This compromises everyone's happiness as what people truly desire is clarity and alignment.

Leaders should be involved in every detail without micromanaging, ensuring they have a good understanding of how things are being done.

Brian Chesky's Approach to Leadership

Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb, shares his perspective on leadership and being involved in the details. The difference between micromanagement and being engaged in the details is highlighted.

Being Involved in the Details

Leaders should not shy away from being involved in the details; it doesn't mean telling people exactly what to do but rather having an understanding of how things are progressing.

Being aware of the details allows leaders to assess whether individuals are performing well or not.

Merely hiring people and empowering them without monitoring their progress may lead to uncertainty about their performance.

Importance of Knowing the Details

The speaker emphasizes that knowing the details is crucial for effective leadership. It enables leaders to ensure that employees are doing a good job.

Responsible Company Boards

Responsible company boards engage with CEOs by delving into the details without dictating what needs to be done.

Understanding the intricacies helps leaders evaluate employee performance effectively.

Introduction to Brian Chesky

An introduction is given for Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb, highlighting his success and inspiring leadership.

Brian Chesky's Achievements

Brian Chesky is the CEO and co-founder of Airbnb, which has grown into an $80 billion global business with a presence in 220 countries.

He is considered one of the most inspiring tech and business leaders today.

Overview of the Conversation

The speaker provides an overview of the upcoming conversation with Brian Chesky, discussing topics such as product management at Airbnb, Brian's approach to running the company, and his personal life.

Topics Covered

An in-depth explanation of product management at Airbnb will be discussed.

Brian's new approach to running Airbnb, including a shift away from traditional growth channels, will be explored.

Insights into Brian's personal life and how he maintains balance and avoids burnout will also be shared.

Product Management at Airbnb

The speaker mentions that there was some confusion regarding product management at Airbnb after comments made by Brian Chesky. This led to discussions among product executives about whether to remove or reduce product management within their own companies.

Clarifying Misconceptions

Comments made by Brian Chesky at figma config created an impression that product management was eliminated at Airbnb. This caused concerns among other companies' product executives.

Discussions were held on whether to remove or significantly cut down on product management within their own organizations.

Shifting Approach to Growth Channels

The speaker discusses how Airbnb has shifted its focus from traditional growth channels like paid advertising towards building the best possible product and relying on organic growth through word-of-mouth.

New Approach to Growth

Instead of relying heavily on paid advertising for growth, Airbnb now believes that building an exceptional product and effectively communicating its value will naturally drive growth.

The emphasis is on creating a single roadmap across the entire company and Brian Chesky's close involvement in design and feature decisions.

Balancing Personal Life and Business

The speaker explores Brian Chesky's approach to maintaining a work-life balance, avoiding burnout, and continuously learning to stay ahead of Airbnb's growth.

Personal Life and Growth

Brian shares insights into how he finds balance between his personal life and business responsibilities.

He emphasizes the importance of continuous learning to stay ahead of the business and its growth.

Sponsor: Sidebar - Building Your Career Network

A sponsor message is delivered promoting Sidebar, a platform that helps professionals build their career network through trusted peer groups.

Building a Trusted Peer Group

Sidebar offers senior leaders the opportunity to join highly vetted peer groups for career advice, unbiased opinions, diverse perspectives, and raw feedback.

These trusted networks can help professionals navigate professional challenges, leading to faster promotions and bigger impact.

Sponsor: Jira Product Discovery - Simplifying Product Management

Another sponsor message is presented for Jira Product Discovery, a tool designed to simplify product management by gathering ideas and insights in one place.

Streamlining Product Management

Jira Product Discovery allows product teams to gather all their ideas and insights in one place for better prioritization.

Customizable roadmaps can be created and shared with stakeholders for improved collaboration within engineering teams.

Conclusion & Thank You

The speaker concludes the introduction section by expressing gratitude for having Brian Chesky as a guest on the podcast.

Appreciation for Guest Appearance

The speaker expresses gratitude towards Brian Chesky for being a guest on the podcast.

Congratulations are extended to both parties on their respective successes.

Desire for Change in Product Management Function

In this section, the speaker discusses the elimination of the traditional product management function and the reasons behind the positive reaction from designers.

Changes Made to Product Management Function

The speaker clarifies that they did not get rid of people but rather transformed the way they work together.

The inbound product development responsibilities of product managers were combined with the outbound or marketing responsibilities of product marketing.

Program management functions were offloaded to actual program managers, resulting in some individuals with a product management title being program managers instead.

The group became smaller and more senior, with fewer junior product marketers.

Importance of Communication and Expertise

Building a successful product requires both expertise in making the product and understanding its market. Companies often fail when they lack a distribution plan or fail to effectively communicate about their products.

The speaker emphasizes that their model is purely functional, where influence is used for management rather than control. They have designed a company where managing by influence does not require being liked by everyone.

Frustration with Design's Role

This section explores why designers cheered when the traditional product management function was eliminated and highlights frustrations within design and its role in companies.

Frustration with Product Development Process

Many designers feel frustrated as they perceive design being treated as a service organization rather than an integral part of the development process.

Designers may feel like they are compromising their creativity and becoming design administrators instead of true designers.

Challenges Arising from Lack of Alignment

This section discusses the challenges that arise when different teams within a company are not aligned and how it leads to technical debt, dependencies, politics, bureaucracy, and lack of accountability.

Challenges Arising from Lack of Alignment

Different teams running on different technical stacks can lead to technical debt.

Dependencies between teams can cause delays and frustrations when the teams they depend on cannot deliver.

The need for advocacy and relationship-building arises when there are dependencies between teams, leading to politics within the organization.

As divisions form due to lack of alignment, bureaucracy increases, making it difficult to know who is responsible for what.

Lack of accountability leads to complacency and a slow-moving bureaucracy.

Companies may have multiple marketing efforts and product releases but fail to effectively communicate with customers due to lack of alignment between marketing and engineering.

The transcript provided does not cover the entire video.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of engineers thinking about the products they are building and the role of performance marketing in driving growth.

Importance of Engineers' Understanding of Products

Engineers should be involved in understanding and talking about the products they are building.

This helps create a strong connection between engineering and product development.

Role of Performance Marketing

Performance marketing is like a laser that can target specific areas to drive demand.

It is effective for short-term supply-demand balancing but does not create long-term advantages.

To build a sustainable business, investment in marketing and education is necessary.

Many companies focus on brand marketing or performance marketing without educating customers about new products.

Lack of product education leads to slower adoption and incremental growth.

New Section

In this section, the speaker explains their approach to product planning, strategy, and marketing at Airbnb.

Rolling Two-Year Roadmap

Airbnb follows a rolling two-year roadmap for product planning instead of an annual plan.

The roadmap gets updated every six months with releases in May and November (or October).

The entire company works together towards common goals set by the roadmap.

Product Management and Marketing Integration

Product management handles both product development and product marketing.

They ensure that people understand new features through demos, videos, and other touchpoints.

Product marketing collaborates with communications to plan launch assets well in advance.

Importance of Storytelling

Storytelling plays a crucial role in developing cohesive products at Airbnb.

A clear story helps align teams and ensures that even with a large workforce, it feels like a small team working together efficiently.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses their journey as a founder CEO and the importance of being involved in product development.

Founder CEO's Role in Product Development

The founder CEO should be the de facto chief product officer in a tech or product-led company.

Delegating product responsibilities may lead to losing control over the core aspect of the business.

Initially, as Airbnb grew, the speaker started becoming less involved in product development.

Less involvement resulted in unclear goals, lack of resources, and slower progress.

New Section

In this section, the speaker reflects on the common journey of founders delegating and then taking back control of their companies.

Common Journey for Founders

Many founders go through a cycle where they initially run the show but are encouraged to delegate as the company grows.

Delegation often leads to optimization work and small thinking.

Eventually, founders realize the need to take back control and drive their companies forward.

Importance of Founder CEO's Involvement

Founders should not delegate away their core strengths, especially when it comes to product development.

The founder CEO should ideally be responsible for leading product strategy in a tech or product-led company.

The Negative Outcome of Giving People What They Initially Asked For

In this section, the speaker discusses how giving people what they initially asked for resulted in a negative outcome.

Giving People What They Wanted

Initially, when people asked for something, they were happy with it.

However, the outcome was strange as they seemed to get less of what they actually wanted.

The speaker powered them to move faster, but they ended up moving slower.

Delegating down led to a situation where things were getting worse and slower over time.

Challenges with AB Testing and Lack of Hypotheses

This section focuses on the challenges faced with AB testing and the importance of having hypotheses.

AB Testing without Hypotheses

The company was spending a billion dollars on AdWords by 2019 but not investing in the brand.

A huge amount of AB testing was being done, but there was a lack of hypotheses.

Without a hypothesis that A is better than B, the company would be stuck with B.

Designing software like designing a house would require considering the whole cohesive system.

Understanding Cohesive Systems and Realizing Issues

Here, the speaker emphasizes understanding cohesive systems and shares an experience that made them realize existing issues.

Importance of Cohesive Systems

A sofa's impact cannot be measured solely based on people spending more time in the living room.

The sofa has relationships with other elements like end stands, lamps, carpet/rug, television, etc., within the whole cohesive system.

It is crucial to consider the entire system when making design decisions or conducting tests.

Realizing the Lack of Product Changes and Increasing Challenges

This section highlights the speaker's realization of the lack of product changes and increasing challenges within the company.

Lack of Product Changes and Rising Challenges

The speaker noticed that the company's app hadn't changed in years.

There was a sense that initial ways of doing things to move fast had made them move slow.

By late 2019, there were concerns about slow products, rising costs, increased politics, bureaucracy, and dependencies.

People were working long hours but achieving minimal productive work.

Influential Encounters with Hiroki Asai and Johnny Ive

In this section, the speaker discusses two influential encounters that shaped their thinking about running a company.

Hiroki Asai and Johnny Ive's Influence

Hiroki Asai, an executive at Airbnb with experience at Apple, influenced the speaker's perspective on product design and marketing.

Johnny Ive, former head of industrial design and chief design officer at Apple, introduced a different way of running a company.

Both encounters highlighted a different approach to organization and design compared to how the speaker was currently running their company.

Challenges with Divisional Structure

Here, the speaker reflects on challenges faced due to a divisional structure within their company.

Subdivisions and Difficulties

The company had multiple divisions going in different directions.

The culture encouraged everyone to be business managers or leaders, leading to further subdivision.

This made it challenging to turn things around as responsibilities were delegated across divisions.

Dreaming of Running a Company Like a Startup Again

This section focuses on the speaker's desire to run the company more like a startup.

Desire for Change

The speaker had a dream of leaving the company and coming back to find it in a better state.

They found that while the company had an amazing culture and brand, there were issues with design, long-term investment, cohesion, and productivity.

Growth was slowing down, costs were rising, and talented individuals were leaving.

The transcript provided does not cover the entire video.

Near-Death Business Experience and Changes Made

The speaker describes a near-death business experience that prompted them to make significant changes in their approach.

Taking Action and Getting Involved

After experiencing a near-death business experience, the speaker decided to take action and get more involved in the details of the business.

Initially, some people felt that the speaker was too involved, but during the crisis, they realized the need for more involvement.

Streamlining Processes

The speaker implemented a system where everything done in the company had to be written down and documented in Google Sheets.

They reduced the number of projects by focusing on essential tasks. Although individuals might only have three tasks, collectively there were thousands of tasks being performed.

To increase efficiency, they transitioned from divisional leaders to a functional model similar to startups.

The company downsized its workforce to have fewer employees, allowing for better agility and decision-making.

Expertise and Decision-Making

Every executive was required to be an expert in their functional domain.

Decision-making was pulled back up rather than pushed down, creating one shared consciousness among top-level employees.

A roadmap was created with regular updates based on changing circumstances. This allowed for quick adaptation if unexpected events occurred.

Importance of Expertise and Review Process

The speaker emphasizes the importance of expertise within each role and introduces their review process.

Expertise in Functional Domains

Each individual within their respective roles needed to possess expertise. For example, engineering managers should be technically proficient.

Design leaders were responsible for managing design work rather than solely managing people.

CEO Review Schedule

The speaker personally reviewed all product and marketing work through a structured review process.

Projects were assigned specific review intervals, ranging from weekly to every 12 weeks.

A program manager scored projects as green, yellow, or red based on their progress towards completion.

Collaboration and Accountability

The review process ensured collaboration and accountability within teams.

Bottlenecks and issues were identified through regular reviews, allowing for timely resolution.

The speaker had a deep understanding of the work being done by individual engineers, similar to reviewing a car prototype.

Roadmap and Adaptability

The speaker discusses the importance of having a roadmap and the ability to adapt quickly.

Roadmap and Continuous Updates

A two-year roadmap was created with monthly updates to accommodate changing circumstances.

Infrastructure projects were exceptions; everything else needed to be on the roadmap.

This rolling roadmap allowed for flexibility in responding to unexpected events.

Adaptability and Resource Allocation

The company maintained a reserve of resources that could be allocated for unexpected events or pivots.

An example was providing housing for 12,000 refugees during a crisis situation.

Product Marketing and Review Process

The speaker introduces the concept of product marketing and explains their review process in more detail.

Product Marketing Role

A new function called product marketing was created within the company. Its specific responsibilities are not mentioned in this section.

Reviewing Work

The CEO personally reviewed all product and marketing work through a structured review process.

Projects were assigned specific review intervals ranging from weekly to every 12 weeks.

A program manager scored projects as green, yellow, or red based on their progress towards completion.

Bureaucracy-Free Environment

Due to the thorough review process, there was minimal bureaucracy within the company.

Issues were addressed promptly during meetings when necessary, ensuring collaboration among teams.

Identifying Bottlenecks and Dictating Pace

The speaker explains how the review process helped identify bottlenecks and maintain a productive pace.

Identifying Bottlenecks

Regular reviews allowed the speaker to identify bottlenecks by observing the progress of different teams.

This insight enabled them to address issues promptly and ensure smooth workflow.

Dictating Pace

The review process allowed the company to dictate its own pace without mandating employees to work from a specific location.

The speaker could track productivity through the review cycle, making physical location less relevant.

The Creative Group and Combining Writing Functions

In this section, the speaker discusses the changes made in the creative group, specifically combining UX writing with marketing writing to have the best writers working on all aspects of the product.

Combining UX Writing and Marketing Writing

The Creative Group decided to combine UX writing and marketing writing functions.

The goal was to have the best writers working on all aspects of the product.

This approach ensures a consistent voice across emails, apps, and ads.

Founders Apologizing for Their Leadership Style

The speaker addresses how many founders apologize for their leadership style and suggests that finding a midpoint between their vision and employee preferences can lead to dissatisfaction. Clarity and alignment are crucial for effective leadership.

Apologizing for Leadership Style

Many founders apologize for how they want to run their company.

They often try to find a compromise between their vision and employee preferences.

This approach can make everyone miserable as clarity is essential for alignment.

Employees may not be present throughout the entire journey, so appeasing them may not be effective.

Being Involved in Details as a Leader

The speaker emphasizes the importance of leaders being involved in details rather than just delegating tasks. Being in the details allows leaders to ensure quality work and understand if employees are performing well.

Leaders' Involvement in Details

Leaders should be involved in every single detail of their company.

Micromanagement is different from being in the details; it means telling people exactly what to do.

Being in the details means understanding what employees are working on without dictating every step.

It is crucial for leaders to know if people are doing a good job and to provide guidance when needed.

Introduction to EPO - Next Generation AB Testing Platform

The speaker introduces EPO, a next-generation AB testing and feature management platform. They highlight its benefits for driving growth and experimentation in various industries.

Introducing EPO

EPO is a Next Generation AB testing and feature management platform.

It is built by alums of Airbnb and Snowflake for modern growth teams.

Companies like Twitch, Miro, ClickUp, DraftKings rely on EPO for experimentation.

EPO helps increase experimentation velocity while providing deep analysis capabilities.

It offers advanced statistical methods and an accessible UI for performance analysis.

EPO supports experimentation across various use cases, including product growth, machine learning, monetization, and email marketing.

Unique Approach to Growth Channels

The speaker discusses their unique approach to growth channels by focusing on creating an exceptional product rather than relying heavily on traditional channels. They share advice for founders considering a similar strategy.

Shifting Focus to Product Excellence

The company has shifted its focus from traditional growth channels to creating an awesome product.

They believe that making an outstanding product will drive organic growth.

This approach may work for most products but does not eliminate the importance of other growth channels.

Performance marketing and conversion measurement still play a role in their strategy.

Founders should consider being involved in the product as the Chief Product Officer (CPO).

Interconnectedness among product managers is crucial for effective collaboration.

Leaders should be experts in their respective domains rather than solely people managers.

Balancing Conversion Optimization with Product Development

The speaker explains the balance between conversion optimization (running down the field) and product development (making big leaps). They provide a checklist for founders to consider when implementing this methodology.

Balancing Conversion Optimization and Product Development

Founders should aim for a balance between conversion optimization and product development.

Conversion optimization is like running down the field, while big leaps represent significant improvements.

The recommended ratio is 80% passes (conversion optimization) and 20% running down the field (product development).

Many companies focus too much on running down the field rather than optimizing conversions.

The suggested checklist includes:

CEOs should think of themselves as Chief Product Officers if they are not solely focused on products.

Functional teams should be closely interconnected to foster collaboration.

Every leader should be an expert in their domain, avoiding people managers without subject matter knowledge.

Timestamps have been associated with bullet points as requested.

The Importance of Data, Research, and Intuition in Product Development

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of using data, research, and intuition in product development. They discuss the role of designers and product managers and how different functions should be interconnected.

Data-driven Decision Making

Data should be used to understand user behavior and inform decision making.

Understanding the meaning behind data requires intuition and a deeper understanding of the context.

Designers should not delegate understanding when conducting AB experiments or measuring data.

Role of Product Managers

Product managers should have a combination of art and science skills.

They should expand their responsibilities beyond just design to include distribution, customer understanding, and storytelling.

Marketing and engineering teams should be interconnected for effective collaboration.

Communication Structure

There should be as few layers as possible between the CEO and other team members.

Each release should be treated as a chapter in an ongoing story.

It is crucial for everyone in the company to row together in the same direction.

Airbnb's Winter Release: Guest Favorites & Overhauled Host Tab

This section focuses on Airbnb's winter release, which aims to address issues related to reliability and accuracy in listings. The introduction of guest favorites enhances uniqueness while maintaining reliability. Additionally, improvements have been made to ratings, reviews, and the host tab.

Introducing Guest Favorites

Airbnb has introduced "guest favorites," a collection of two million homes that are highly rated by guests.

These homes combine the uniqueness of Airbnb with the reliability expected from hotels.

The selection is based on 370 million reviews, customer service tickets, host cancellation data, ensuring high-quality experiences for guests.

Enhancements to Ratings & Reviews

Airbnb has made upgrades to its rating and review system to further enhance trust among users.

The rating and review system is a fundamental part of Airbnb's trust-building mechanism.

Overhauled Host Tab

The host tab has been completely redesigned to address issues related to inaccurate listings.

Many hosts struggle with managing their listings due to the previous design being fragmented and inconsistent.

By integrating design, marketing, and engineering teams, Airbnb aims to provide a more cohesive experience for both guests and hosts.

Conclusion

The transcript highlights the importance of using data, research, and intuition in product development. It emphasizes the need for effective communication structures within organizations and discusses Airbnb's winter release, which includes guest favorites and an overhauled host tab. These updates aim to enhance reliability, accuracy, and trust in the Airbnb platform.

The Future of Interface Design

In this section, the speaker discusses the future of interface design and how it is likely to move away from flat design towards a more colorful, textured, and three-dimensional aesthetic. The increasing use of screens and advancements in AI are driving this shift.

Color, Texture, and Dimensionality

The 2000s were dominated by skeuomorphism, while the 2010s saw the rise of flat design with iOS 7.

The future of interface design will involve a return to color, texture, and dimensionality.

Screens should replicate elements found in the natural environment such as light and texture.

AI allows for the development of more sophisticated interfaces with a sense of dimension.

Image-generating art in AI is gravitating towards a more three-dimensional aesthetic.

AI-Powered Photo Tour

An AI-powered photo tour was created using an AI computer trained on 100 million photos.

This technology can scan all your photos and organize them by room.

Importance of Host Tools in Airbnb

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the significance of host tools in Airbnb's product. They highlight how important it is to create great tools for hosts to enable them to provide a great experience for guests.

Host Experience and Listing Tab

The listing experience is crucial for hosts on Airbnb's platform.

There are over 7 million listings on Airbnb, making it a home base for millions of people.

Travelers may not fully appreciate the value of host features in creating a great guest experience.

Great Hosts = Great Guest Experience

To create a great guest experience, it starts with building great tools for hosts.

By providing excellent tools for hosts, they can deliver exceptional experiences to guests.

The design of the app also plays a role in encouraging hosts to put more care into hosting.

Setting Ambitious Goals and Maintaining Pace

In this section, the speaker discusses the power of setting ambitious goals and maintaining a fast pace within a team. They emphasize the importance of pushing people to think bigger and make faster decisions.

Setting Ambitious Goals

The concept of "adding a zero" is used to imagine something 10 times bigger or better.

Pushing people to think on a larger scale can lead to new perspectives and solutions.

Imagining a 10x scale helps break free from current limitations and encourages innovative thinking.

Maintaining Pace through Decisiveness

The pace of a team is determined by how decisive they are, not just how hard they work.

Making faster decisions improves the speed of a company.

A bias for action and accountability are essential for maintaining momentum.

John Wooden's Secret to Success

John Wooden, a successful basketball coach, asked his players to do their very best.

The secret was that he saw potential in his players that they didn't see in themselves.

Summary

The future of interface design is likely to move away from flat design towards a more colorful, textured, and three-dimensional aesthetic. AI advancements enable the development of sophisticated interfaces with dimensionality. Great host tools are crucial for creating exceptional guest experiences on Airbnb. Setting ambitious goals pushes teams to think bigger and find innovative solutions. Maintaining pace through decisiveness and accountability accelerates progress. Recognizing potential in others can unlock hidden capabilities for success.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of creating a growth mindset organization and motivating teams to reach their potential.

Creating a Growth Mindset Organization

Having a fixed mindset can make individuals feel like their efforts are not good enough.

A growth mindset organization encourages continuous improvement and believes in the potential of its team members.

Motivating teams to do better is a way of showing belief in their abilities.

The ability to assess if a team can improve is crucial.

Motivation and Avoiding Burnout

Motivation can be driven by life-dependent situations or defining moments.

A leader's role is to motivate the team, help them see their potential, and push them towards first-principle thinking.

Building a culture where everyone is rowing in the same direction reduces conflicts and turnover.

Stepping away from work at times helps avoid burnout and increases productivity.

Maintaining healthy relationships, exercise, proper sleep, and meaningful work contribute to overall happiness.

Friends and Travel

The speaker discusses the importance of having shared experiences with friends through travel. They mention having separate groups of high school and college friends, and how staying in Airbnb houses together creates a unique bonding opportunity.

Importance of Shared Experiences

Having new shared experiences with friends is important to avoid repetitive conversations about old stories.

Traveling together allows for creating new memories and deepening friendships.

Staying in Airbnb houses provides a great opportunity for group bonding.

Personal Life in New York City

The speaker talks about their personal life in New York City, including staying at their sister's apartment, spending time with friends, and pursuing hobbies like drawing and reading.

Living Arrangements

The speaker stays at their sister's two-bedroom apartment while in New York City.

They enjoy spending time with their sister and prioritize maintaining relationships with friends.

Hobbies and Balance

In addition to traveling, the speaker enjoys drawing and reading.

They strive to maintain a balance between health, work, relationships, and personal interests.

Prioritizing Relationships

The speaker reflects on past busyness causing difficulties in maintaining relationships. They emphasize the importance of proactively prioritizing meaningful connections rather than solely reacting to incoming requests or emails.

Reactivity vs Proactivity

Being constantly busy led others to assume the speaker didn't have time for them.

However, being overwhelmed by reactive tasks prevented the speaker from reaching out themselves.

Founders often fall into the trap of reacting instead of strategically prioritizing relationships.

Time as a Finite Resource

Imagining one's life as finite can change how they prioritize time.

Saying no to unimportant tasks (fake work) becomes crucial while saying yes to meaningful work and relationships.

Inspiring Leaders and Personal Growth

The speaker is asked about their personal growth and how they continue to grow as a leader. They share their perspective on maintaining a beginner's mindset, curiosity, and seeking help from others.

Beginner's Mindset

The speaker still feels like they have a lot to prove despite their success.

They embrace a beginner's mindset, feeling like a beginner even as they achieve more.

Curiosity and Learning

Maintaining curiosity is essential for personal growth.

Studying the history of organizations and learning from various leaders helps in developing leadership skills.

Seeking Help

The speaker emphasizes the importance of reaching out for help without fear.

Asking for assistance can be an honor for the person being asked.

Timestamps are provided in seconds (s) format.

The Key to Success

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, growth, and curiosity in achieving success.

Constant Learning and Growth

Continuous learning is essential for success.

Being curious and having a hunger to always improve is key.

The speaker believes that they haven't "made it" yet because they want to continue evolving as an artist.

They hope to still believe 70% of what they say years from now, indicating a willingness to learn and change their perspectives.

Gaining wisdom requires being open to modifying one's beliefs over time.

Helping Others and Paying It Forward

The speaker mentions their role in advising Sam Altman, emphasizing the importance of helping others in the startup ecosystem.

They recall how someone named Michael Siebel provided them with advice when they were starting out and encouraged them to pass it on to other founders.

There is a culture of generosity in Silicon Valley where people help one another, leading to collective success.

Fun Fact About Brian Chesky

In this section, Brian Chesky shares a fun fact about himself related to his artistic background.

Artistic Background

Brian Chesky spent most of his life as an artist.

He developed a passion for art at a young age and was inspired by Norman Rockwell's illustrations.

He became obsessed with art and even asked for poorly designed Christmas toys so he could redesign them.

His interest expanded into architectural and landscape design, fueled by his fascination with floor plans and renderings from annual reports of companies like Disney.

He pursued various forms of art throughout his education, including film animation and environmental design.

The transcript ends here.

Pursuing Art and Industrial Design

In this section, the speaker discusses their journey in pursuing art and industrial design, including the support from their parents, winning a national art competition, and discovering industrial design as a field of study.

Choosing Art as a Career Path

The speaker expressed their desire to become an artist despite concerns about financial stability.

Their parents were supportive but also worried about the potential income in the art field.

Miss Williams, a mentor figure, reassured the speaker's mother that they would become a famous artist one day.

National Art Competition and Scholarship

The speaker won a national art competition and had their artwork displayed in the retunda gallery.

This achievement led to receiving a scholarship at R School of Design, which is known for its prestigious art and design programs.

Discovering Industrial Design

While studying at R School of Design, the speaker realized that traditional drawing and painting skills were being replaced by photography and AI-generated art.

They discovered industrial design as a field that encompassed designing everything from toothbrushes to spaceships.

Industrial design required collaboration with engineers, understanding manufacturing processes, marketing strategies, and accountability for product success.

Meeting Co-founder Joe Gebbia

At R School of Design, the speaker met Joe Gebbia who later became their co-founder.

On graduation day, Joe expressed his belief that they would start a company together someday.

Transition to San Francisco

After working as an industrial designer in Los Angeles for two years, the speaker received a package from Joe inviting them to join him in San Francisco.

Inspired by the thriving tech scene in San Francisco with companies like YouTube, Apple, Google, and Facebook gaining momentum,

the speaker decided to quit their job and move to San Francisco.

Starting Airbnb Journey

Due to financial constraints, the speaker and Joe turned their house into a bed and breakfast during a design conference in San Francisco.

This experience laid the foundation for their future venture, Airbnb.

Embracing Design Thinking in Business

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of incorporating design thinking and creativity into business leadership roles.

The Role of Designers and Artists in Business

The speaker highlights that designers and artists bring unique qualities such as intuition, imagination, design curiosity to business leadership roles.

They believe that companies should not be disconnected from their heart or biased towards one side of their head.

Well-Rounded Thinking

The speaker mentions that some of the greatest scientists, like Einstein, also played musical instruments.

They advocate for a well-rounded way of thinking about the world to foster innovation and creativity in business.

Importance of Intuition and Imagination

The speaker suggests that intuition and imagination are essential qualities possessed by many individuals listening to the talk.

They express a need for more designers and artists running Fortune 500 or SCP 500 companies.

Conclusion

The transcript covers the speaker's journey from pursuing art to discovering industrial design. It also highlights the importance of incorporating design thinking and creativity into business leadership roles.