Don’t Fuck Culture: Airbnb CEO Letter to CEO

Translator's note : I apologize if for someone the headline seemed too rough, but I found it necessary to make its translation as close to the original as possible (Don't fuck up the culture) in order to convey the original message of the author.

I once sent one letter to our entire Airbnb team. I decided to publish it with the idea that it could be useful for young companies in building their own culture.
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Team, hello!

Our next meeting focuses on the fundamental values ​​that are needed to build our culture. It occurred to me that before this meeting I should write you a short letter about why culture is so important for Joe, Nate and me.

After the end of the next stage of financing in 2012, we invited our investor Peter Thiel to our office. It was at the very end of the year, and we showed him the various metrics of the team’s work. In the middle of the conversation, I asked him how the most important advice he could give would have sounded.

To which he replied: "Do not fool culture."

This was not exactly what we expected from a man who had just invested $ 150 million in our business. I asked him to clarify this statement. He said that one of the reasons why he invested money in us was our culture. But he also adhered to a somewhat cynical point of view that as soon as a company reaches a certain size, it is almost inevitable that this very culture "will be fucked up." “Hmm, somehow it sounds depressing,” I thought then.

It turns out that we were doomed in the long run "to preserve our culture"? In the course of further discussions, it became clear that it is still possible to protect and strengthen it. But it should have been one of our most important goals. For myself, I thought about how many company executives are primarily focused on culture? Does he belong to the list of the most important indicators that they study most carefully? Do they spend the lion's share of their working hours every week on this?

Culture is just a way to do something together and with enthusiasm.

Our culture is the foundation of our company. Maybe they will quickly forget about us after we leave, and after a hundred years Airbnb will not be the exact website for booking accommodation. In our evolution, we will go much further (not to mention that in 100 years, the grandchildren will ask their grandmothers what websites are).

It is culture that is what will stand the test of time, as we could see from the experience of companies with a century of history. It creates the basis for all future innovations. Destroying the culture, you break the machine that produces your products.

So how do we build a culture?

Maintaining our core values ​​in everything we do. Culture is thousands of things, thousands of times. These are the core values, adhering to which you hire people to work, write letters, work on the project. These are the values ​​with which you come to work. Thanks to our values, we have the strength to build a culture. We also have enough strength to betray her by betraying her values. Each of us has such an opportunity to do so, and this is a heavy burden.

Why is culture so important for our business? I will describe it simply. The stronger the culture, the less the company needs to strengthen the "corporate spirit". When culture is strong, you can trust everyone with the firm conviction that they will do the right thing. People can be independent and independent. They can be adventurous. And if our company is enterprising in spirit, we will be able to reach out to the stars. Have you ever noticed that people in families and tribes do not need "corporate development"? The reason for this is the strong ties and culture that replace it. In organizations (or even in a society) with a weak culture, you need to establish many clear rules and procedures.

There are days in which you can easily feel the pressure of our rising expectations. The periods when we need to launch a product. As well as the time when we are dealing with bureaucratic problems. And it all delays. And all this is very important. But compared to culture, all this is relatively short. These problems come and go. But company culture is forever.

About the author: Brian (Brian Chesky) - co-founder and CEO of Airbnb