Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has revealed an unconventional approach to internal communication: he says he can barely remember the last time he wrote a work email, preferring to text staff directly instead.
Speaking to Time, Chesky said he writes roughly one email a week, if that, describing email as inferior to texting because messages sent that way are faster to answer and don’t carry the same feeling of obligation that email does.
Rather than relying on formal channels, Chesky said his general approach when he needs to solve a problem is to call, text, or meet the relevant person face to face, reaching out directly to any of Airbnb’s roughly 8,200 employees when needed rather than routing communication through layers of management or email threads.
Chesky said he tries to avoid texting people when he believes they're spending time with family, reserving those interruptions for genuine emergencies. He also acknowledged that his own boundaries between work and personal life are likely more blended than most people's, and that he avoids scheduling meetings before 10 a.m.
Chesky's comments add him to a growing list of high-profile executives, including Nvidia's Jensen Huang, who have become known for unconventional workplace communication habits that depart from traditional corporate norms, as leaders increasingly experiment with direct, informal channels over structured hierarchies.
