How Airbnb is led by design (and why its genius)
🏢 Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb, the only Designer-CEO of a Fortune 500 company, emphasizes design leadership in his 10 lessons for building a global company. At Config 2023, Chesky discussed Airbnb's foundation in 2008 and its current reach, designing trust for over 150 million users worldwide. He advocates for a design-centric approach, akin to Apple's model under Steve Jobs and Jony Ive, focusing on quality, core services, and cohesive roadmaps. Airbnb now releases 80% of its products biannually and has restructured to empower designers, merging product management with marketing. Chesky stresses the necessity of product marketing, leadership reviews, and the flexibility to innovate beyond design systems. Credits to Max Wendkos for summarizing the lessons on Twitter.
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