Publishers Weekly
03/16/2020
With this strong debut, Chesnut, general counsel of Airbnb, confronts a question he sees facing today’s most successful tech companies: having built strong services, products, and workforces during their rise to the top, how do they now use those tools ethically? Paying lip service to “values” and “accountability,” he says, is no longer enough; organizations need to make a concerted effort to articulate and prioritize their values, develop rules to ensure those values are implemented, and then make sure they’re respected throughout the company. Having productive leaders and good intentions isn’t enough; bad actors can destroy the best of efforts, Chesnut writes, and when the world is watching, trust is critical. Chesnut covers navigating the corporate culture shock that ensues when an ethical breach goes public, managing the aftereffects of bad behavior, identifying common integrity issues, avoiding issues in the first place, and implementing both clear and safe whistleblowing processes and appropriate consequences for violators. This is the rare fully realized look at not just what integrity means in the context of business, but how to make it second nature in the workplace. Business leaders should take note. (June)
From the Publisher
* An Inc. Magazine Top 10 Business Book for 2020 *
"Drawing on considerable experience with the nuances and circumstances of integrity violations at Airbnb, Chesnut offers plentiful examples of common integrity issues... He is especially good on such matters as enforcing consequences and handling situations involving violators who are high-performing employees. Valuable reading for companies that want to get serious about workplace ethics." —Kirkus Reviews
"This is the rare fully realized look at not just what integrity means in the context of business, but how to make it second nature in the workplace. Business leaders should take note." —Publishers Weekly
"Stop talking about bringing your values to work and learn how to actually DO it!" —Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor
“The ethical expectation for companies is wonderfully changing from 'do no evil' to 'do good.' Companies and their leaders need to put ethics and integrity at the center of their mission and culture. Rob is an insider who's combined doing good with doing business well in two iconic Silicon Valley companies. His book contains smart, practical advice for anyone looking to do good and do well.” —Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and author of Blitzscaling
"No one has wrestled with more difficult business integrity challenges over the last 20 years than Rob. His insights will instruct you how to drive integrity into your culture. Now, more than ever, we need someone to lead a constructive, direct conversation about integrity in business—Rob delivers." —Meg Whitman, CEO of Quibi, former CEO of HP and eBay Inc.
"Rob and I were peers at Airbnb and together we helped build a culture and public-facing brand with integrity as a core value. Not only was the work strategically brilliant but under Rob's leadership, it was embedded into the very heart of the company. Rob brings creativity, empathy, credibility and a great sense of humor to this important topic — he makes ethics human and fun." —Jonathan Mildenhall, cofounder and CEO, TwentyFirstCenturyBrand
Library Journal
04/17/2020
Anyone who reads the news will be familiar with the seemingly endless lapses in integrity that occur at companies, both those well-established and start-ups. In this work, Chesnut (CEO, Airbnb) shares his method for safeguarding organizations against these lapses and thus avoiding the negative effects on customer loyalty (and the bottom line) and recruiting and retaining talented staff. He boils his method down to six steps—the six C's—through which organizations can establish a clear set of values and ensure that everyone adheres to them, including obvious buy-in and behavior modeling from those at the top (the first C is for "CEO"). Other key elements include a robust and continuous system for communicating and reinforcing these values and a barrier- and stigma-free system for reporting lapses paired with a clear set of consequences that are equitably and routinely enforced. To emphasize his points, Chesnut liberally mixes in examples taken from his experiences at eBay and Airbnb. VERDICT Sound advice for the corporate world on creating and maintaining a culture of trust and integrity. Will appeal to aspiring corporate leaders and readers interested in a glimpse of the inner workings of successful start-ups.—Sara Holder, Univ. of Illinois Libs., Champaign
Kirkus Reviews
2020-03-23
Airbnb chief ethics officer Chesnut debuts with an upbeat book on how to chart a “proactive, ethical course” for business.
The author, a former federal prosecutor, writes, “we are all capable of dishonesty,” recounting workplace ethical issues that have rocked Enron, Volkswagen, and other corporations; headline-making cases of sexual harassment and assault; and everyday instances of bribery, fraud, and conflicts of interest. Yet, he writes, “most companies don’t talk much about integrity.” Many simply distribute a code of ethics template emblazoned with a corporate logo. With little reason to fear consequences, individuals believe they can “get away” with unethical acts, and “even small acts of fraud and deceit, doing work while intoxicated, fudging numbers, violating domestic or international regulations, become compounded over time.” Each poor choice makes the next “easier to make.” In this exhaustive overview, Chesnut argues persuasively that every organization needs a “deliberate, intentional commitment” to ethical rules based on its clearly stated purpose and values. The rules must be widely and constantly disseminated so that they become a company “norm.” The process will generate “business success and positive social value,” helping firms attract the best employees and avoid scandals. Drawing on considerable experience with the nuances and circumstances of integrity violations at Airbnb and, earlier, eBay, Chesnut offers plentiful examples of common integrity issues—e.g., romantic entanglements, selling customer data, social media issues—tips on how to handle them, and ways to create a safe process for reporting lapses. He is especially good on such matters as enforcing consequences and handling situations involving violators who are high-performing employees. The author’s enthusiasm sometimes leads him astray—his anticipated “contagion of integrity” in business seems unlikely—but his rigorous guidelines for lawful behavior should keep employees on their toes and limit federal liabilities. Appendices cover diverse ethical crises.
Valuable reading for companies that want to get serious about workplace ethics. (first printing of 100,000)
