Posted by Alumni from MIT
December 19, 2024
When COVID-19 struck in early 2020, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky faced a devastating crisis: Bookings on his vacation-rental marketplace plummeted 80% almost overnight, and the company was forced to postpone its planned initial public offering. Chesky responded by abandoning what he has described as a hands-off leadership style. He laid off 25% of the workforce, reorganized the company from business divisions to functional teams, and consolidated product planning into a single road map. His approach challenged the common wisdom that great leaders, especially ones who have founded a company and hired talented people, should avoid meddling and give their employees room to run. And yet, it worked. After absorbing heavy losses during the pandemic, Airbnb staged a remarkable financial turnaround: In 2021, it generated almost $6 billion in revenue, which it grew to almost $10 billion by 2023, with over 448 million nights booked through its platform. 'Too many founders apologize for how they... learn more

WE USE COOKIES TO ENHANCE YOUR EXPERIENCE
Unicircles uses cookies to personalize content, provide certain advanced features, and to analyze traffic. Per our privacy policy, we WILL NOT share information about your use of our site with social media, advertising, or analytics companies. If you continue using Unicircles by clicking below link, you agree to our use of Cookies while using Unicircles.
I AGREELearn more
x