I'd love to create something with you, here.

Perhaps it is boredom during lockdown, but I decided to start collecting great leadership speeches and dissect them to learn what actually makes them great.

I have a lot of respect for good writing and well performed speeches, which I find both such masterful skills to have. And secretly, I hope to consciously remember these speeches for when I may need to write and give my own speeches.

If this is also of interest to you, I would love to have you collaborate on this by sharing speeches you find interesting and tell us why you liked a certain speech. (Simply reach out to me).

By the way, I think the crisis is a fantastic time to find great speeches, because it is the time where societies, companies and teams all need a bit of hope and encouragement.

One that I came across recently is the speech by Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, who recently had to lay off 1,900 of its employees. 

Here is what I believe makes this speech great:

• Straight-forward - Brian doesn't go into long, laborious embellishments before getting to the core. He is to the point with no big fanfare 
  "When you’ve asked me about layoffs, I’ve said that nothing is off the table. Today, I must confirm that we are reducing the size of the Airbnb workforce"
   
• Transparent - Clearly articulate the process of how he got to this decision
  "I am going to share as many details as I can on how I arrived at this decision, what we are doing for those leaving, and what will happen next. [...]"
   
• Reinforcing values - this is the most important I find too little leaders refer back to. Company values should be the guiding compass for tough time decisions
  "It was important that we had a clear set of principles, guided by our core values, for how we would approach reductions in our workforce. These were our guiding principles [...]"
   
• Sincerity - Messaging and tone coming from a sincere and honest place
  "I want to provide clarity to all of you as soon as possible. We have employees in 24 countries, and the time it will take to provide clarity will vary based on local laws and practices. [...]"
   
• Answers to unspoken questions - Anticipating what questions their employees may have
  "To take care of those that are leaving, we have looked across severance, equity, healthcare, and job support and done our best to treat everyone in a compassionate and thoughtful way."
   
• Caring - Showing respect and empathy, but not over the top that it appears exaggerated
  "I’ve asked all Airbnb leaders to wait to bring their teams together until the end of this week out of respect to our teammates being impacted. I want to give everyone the next few days to process this, and I’ll host a CEO Q&A again this Thursday at 4pm pacific time."
   
• Addressing people directly at the end
  "To those of you staying, 
  One of the most important ways we can honor those who are leaving is for them to know that their contributions mattered, and that they will always be part of Airbnb’s story. I am confident their work will live on, just like this mission will live on
  
  To those leaving Airbnb, 
  I am truly sorry. Please know this is not your fault. The world will never stop seeking the qualities and talents that you brought to Airbnb…that helped make Airbnb. I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing them with us."

In summary, I like that he acknowledged the bad situation, he provided clarity on the path forward and his speech comes across warm, sincere and empathetic without patrionizing, having pity or going into any excuses. It is really a powerful speech.