[ad_1]
“I think leader psychology often becomes organizational psychology,” says Brian Chesky, reflecting on a year in which his company, Airbnb, was baffled by the global pandemic.
The chief executive and co-founder of the hosting booking platform says there was no panic reserves plummeted more than 70 percent and thousands of hosts protested when they were forced to issue refunds. Others questioned whether the travel industry would ever recover.
“The trick is to be optimistic,” he says, with the calm look of someone who knows everything went well. “Optimism has to be rooted in facts that you can present to people as a case, to tell them, ‘I’m optimistic because here we are going where we are going and how we are going to get there.’
Chesky, 39, is among the most startling cases in which the person learns at work in corporate history. In a Silicon Valley culture that sees quick failures as something to celebrate, perhaps even a minimal qualification, Chesky’s first foray into technology, into emerging companies, into running a business of any kind – it has turned out to be a success. Airbnb’s initial public offering, introduced before the end of last year, valued the company at $ 88 billion at the end of the first day of trading.
These facts seemed to appear in Chesky, live in the air, as the price of the first transaction came on the day Airbnb debuted on the stock exchange. Astonished, he could only meet mainly with gallops in response to the news.
“It took me about 10 or 15 seconds to form a sentence,” he recalls. “I was shocked by what happened. The banks don’t tell you [the stock is] is going to double. At that moment, it was as if my hard drive was crashing.
He continues: “Remember, eight months earlier, there was news asking, ‘Will Airbnb exist?’ And I guess those eight months … just fell in 15 seconds. “
The lessons of 2020 were big and fast. In May, the company he fired 25% of his staff, the fall of business areas that, due to the pandemic waist tightening, were no longer considered “basic” and therefore dispensable. Chesky canceled almost all advertising, saving about $ 800 million a year, and took it on. $ 2 billion in emergency funding. Throughout this time of great upheaval, it was important to keep talking, Chesky says.
“In a crisis, you have to communicate four more times,” he says. “The quarterly meetings of the board were held every Sunday. Manual monthly meetings were held weekly. I used to answer five questions to the questions and I started answering 10. ”
When the company decided it had to lay off, most of the 1,900 released were added, with their consent, to a talent directory: a database of skills and location searches from where potential employers could pick up the workers who were leaving. And while it is criticized on how the layoffs were prioritized, Chesky garnered praise your statement to staff, immediately giving news about the loss of jobs and then outlining how the decision was made to cut certain areas. There was no typical corporate twist that could accompany these statements.
“My point is that even if I’ve said something weird, it’s better for people to think I’m stabbing them,” he says. “I don’t think most CEOs are as cold as they are. I just think there are people in human and legal resources who round out all the boundaries of the person, to the point that sometimes they are not people. “
In the summer, most observers were wary of the optimism that Airbnb would at least see for sure throughout the year, but a IPO seemed out of the question. Then came an unexpected rebound in Airbnb’s business. While global tourism remained non-existent, closed citizens headed to the platform to find rural getaways, realizing that working from home didn’t necessarily have to be done at home.
Later, business applications revealed that Airbnb revenue was recovering in September, with reserves down by around 20 per cent compared to the more than 70 per cent drop observed the first days when the Covid-19 appeared. Suddenly, far from back, Airbnb showed signs of being stronger than ever, with an exciting prospect for investors: the company could dominate leisure travel, business travel and an emerging work and play, with the family in tow. Airbnb’s share price traded 19% higher last week than its closing price on the first day of trading.
In 2021 different challenges have emerged. If last year was spent trying to get travelers to rent Airbnb again, the beginning of this was dominated by an effort to keep some people away from home.
Three questions for Brian Chesky
Who is your leadership hero?
One that comes to mind would be Walt Disney. He was an artist and a creative person who ended up running a business, and there aren’t many. I also like Charles and Ray Eames. They were two of the best industrial designers of the 20th century. I really like leaders with a creative spirit.
If he were not a CEO, what would he be?
Probably what he was before that: he was a designer. I am very interested in design as a way to solve problems. One of the problems I see is loneliness. Airbnb has its own way of fixing it, [but] I think there are other ways to resolve loneliness. I like to design different types of communities, different ways to connect and get to know each other.
What was the first leadership lesson you learned?
The first time I really thought about leadership was the first time I hired someone. I had never hired anyone in my life. The moment I became a leader was the moment I became a role model, and I had never thought about it. I thought, “My God, people will imitate what I do.” The way I lead, the model I pass on, the way I treat them will be the way they treat the next 100 people. The example you set, and what you tolerate in the beginning, is permeated through culture.
Following the January 6 riots at Capitol Hill in Washington, it was discovered that several Airbnb hosts had inadvertently put a roof over the heads of the people involved. Less than two weeks later, as preparations were being made for Joe Biden to take office as president, Airbnb canceled all bookings in the metropolitan area of the American capital. Unsure of his ability to keep out national extremists, Chesky decided the right path was not to house anyone.
Hoping to avoid the need for general action in the future, one of Chesky’s priorities this year is to form a team to traverse parts of the Internet frequented by members of known hate groups, keeping up to date who can book accommodation on the platform and block the activity.
“We can’t stop everything,” Chesky acknowledges. “But we’ve developed a user knowledge operations team that has cybersecurity experts, law enforcement experts, and we’re investing a lot of money.” He adds: “We are not like Big Brother destroying everyone’s personal life.”
What constitutes a hate group is determined by the FBI and international equivalents. Still, the effort risks dragging Airbnb into a debate it has so far managed to avoid, where technology platforms are accused of being biased against right-wing views or participating in the so-called “culture of cancellation “.
“It’s really hard to predict what will explode in your face and not,” he says. “There has been a calculation in technology and in corporate America. The calculation has been based on diversity, on corporate responsibility, on this idea that we are all platforms. Yes, we are platforms, but even platforms have limits and responsibility ”.
Staying on top of these responsibilities could be a revenue drag. For the holidays of July 4 this year, for example, only customers with positive and existing comments will be allowed to make a reservation.
“I tell shareholders, and I think it resonates, the best thing for shareholders is for society to want your company to exist,” Chesky says.
Like all companies, Airbnb is wondering what it would mean for the U.S. to open up about how it runs its own business, which is currently headquartered in San Francisco, a space meticulously designed by Chesky and his team.
Today, this design-based thinking applies to answering the question of when and how Airbnb employees should return to work. Indeed, Yes they would have to go back to work, given the company’s huge valuation which is justified, at least in part, by the promise of a remote-leaning economy and a reimagining of the office.
“Flexibility benefits Airbnb,” says Chesky. “It would be great to talk and let people live anywhere.
“On the other hand, you know, some of the best ideas I had on Airbnb were just shooting, just talking. And we weren’t trying to get an idea: something happened spontaneously in the conversation. “
[ad_2]
Source link
