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How Leaders Lead with David Novak

#04: Tony Xu, Doordash Cofounder & CEO—Break Problems Into Detailed Pieces

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8596 Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2020

⏱️ 61 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today’s guest is Tony Xu, Cofounder and CEO of Doordash.  Getting a nice tasty burrito delivered to your door may seem pretty straightforward.  But when you think about all the moving parts – vendors, drivers, logistics, traffic, weather, technology – there are a lot of places where problems can pop up! Tony and his team love to solve those problems. And they do it by breaking them down to their smallest details, so they really get clear on what’s happening.  At Doordash, Tony is creating a culture of action and ownership – where his people have both the skills AND the attitude they need to really dig into details. To be honest, we leaders sometimes overlook those nitty gritty details. And that can be costly, because we never get the full understanding and clarity we really need to solve the problem. Great leaders have to deal in reality. And sometimes, reality is really detailed. Tony is a great leader who has the curiosity and hard work it takes to break problems down into detailed pieces – and there’s a lot we can learn from him!  You’ll also learn: The #1 strategy you need to solve problems – even the really tough ones Two practical ways you can foster more innovation in your company Three standout behaviors to look for as you hire A golden piece of advice for balancing work with the rest of your life The surprising thing Tony teaches everyone at Doordash (and why) Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go  Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to How Leaders Lead, where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world.

0:11.0

I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple that you can apply as you develop into a better leader.

0:19.0

That's what this podcast is all about.

0:21.8

Today's guest is Tony Shue, the co-founder and CEO of DoorDash.

0:27.0

Now, getting a nice, tasty burrito delivered to your door may seem very, very straightforward.

0:33.6

But really, when you think about all the moving parts, you've got fenders and drivers, logistics,

0:39.7

traffic, weather, technology. Well, there's just a lot of places where problems can pop up.

0:46.1

But you know what? Tony and his team love to solve those problems. And they do it by breaking

0:51.9

them down to the smallest details. so they really get clear on what's

0:56.6

happening. At DoorDash, Tony is creating a culture of action and ownership, whereas people have both the

1:03.3

skills and the attitude they need to really dig into details. To be totally honest, we leaders sometimes overlook those nitty-gritty

1:13.1

details, and boy, can they come back to bite you, because we never get the full understanding

1:18.9

and clarity that we really need to solve the problem. Great leaders have to deal in reality,

1:25.3

and sometimes the reality, unfortunately, is really detailed.

1:31.7

Tony is a great leader who has the curiosity and hard work it takes to break problems down into

1:38.3

detailed pieces, and there's a lot we can learn from them. So here's my conversation with my good friend

1:45.1

and soon to be yours, Tony Shue.

1:52.6

Tony, I wanna thank you so much

1:54.0

for taking the time to chat with us.

1:55.8

Well, it's great to be with you, David.

1:57.0

Thanks for having me.

1:58.1

Tony, with this lockdown, you know,

...

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