Brian Chesky (part one): The Hero's Journey

Out of the Crisis

I have been lucky to call Brian Chesky a friend for a long time now. So, when the crisis hit, I knew how hard it was going to be for him and Airbnb. He and the Airbnb team have been working furiously to make sure what they have built will not only weather this storm, but be defined by it.

This is one of Brian's first public conversations since the pandemic hit. It is also the first time Brian publicly discusses the layoffs and why they took the approach they did. We also discussed Brian's approach to crisis leadership and the importance of love and compassion. There was a lot to cover, so I decided to release this in two parts.

Links and resources we discussed:

Andy Grove: https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/23/intel-ceo-bad-companies-are-destroyed-by-crises-great-companies-are-improved-by-them/

RISD Industrial Design Program: https://www.risd.edu/academics/industrial-design/

Extenuating circumstance policy: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covid19

Airbnb grant to Hosts: https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/airbnb-commits-250-million-to-helping-hosts-cover-cancellations-due-to-covid-19/

Brian's note about layoffs: https://news.airbnb.com/a-message-from-co-founder-and-ceo-brian-chesky/

Joseph Campbell's The Hero of A Thousand Faces: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1577315936/?tag=CSSF-20

Frontline Stays program: https://news.airbnb.com/frontline-stays-global-program-update/

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