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Keith Yandell started at DoorDash as Chief Legal Officer and during his tenure has also led the HR, Customer Support, Marketing, and now Corporate Development teams. In today\u2019s episode, we talk about leadership, and how to lead with empathy. We dig into DoorDash\u2019s unique culture\xa0and touch on the WeDash program, which requires every employee to complete four deliveries a year in order to better understand the customer experience. Keith shares his \u201cHow to Work with Keith\u201d document and discusses the importance of openness in the workplace. He also gives some tips for founders on hiring, engaging with legal, and how to make big decisions when teams are competing for resources.

Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leading-with-empathy-keith-yandell-doordash-uber/#transcript

Where to find Keith Yandell:

\u2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/kdyandell

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yandell-2a947432/

Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

Referenced:

\u2022 Gokul Rajaram on Lenny\u2019s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/gokul-rajaram-on-designing-your-product-development-process-when-and-how-to-hire-your-first-pm-a-playbook-for-hiring-leaders-getting-ahead-in-you-career-how-to-get-started-angel-investing-more/

\u2022 Ryan Sokol on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-sokol-00b2333/

\u2022 Tony Xu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xutony/

\u2022 About WeDash: https://doordash.news/culture/wedash-doordash-employee-program-how-does-it-work/

\u2022\xa0 Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484

\u2022\xa0 How to be successful working with Keith doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12yTpBZFab6SPAruSpSD6CB_qLOu5L8kpQ4CCmX9pDx4/edit?mode=html

\u2022 Kofi Amoo-Gottfried on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kofi-amoo-gottfried-3802bb3/

\u2022 Tia Sherringham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiasherringham/

\u2022 Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity: https://www.amazon.com/Amp-Unlocking-Hypergrowth-Expectations-Intensity/dp/1119836115

\u2022 Ted Lasso\u2019s quote on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TedLasso/status/1426932132417576967

\u2022 Rajat Shroff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajatshroff/

\u2022 Micah Moreau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micahmoreau/

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Keith\u2019s background

(03:41) The time Keith asked a potential hire if he was an a*****e

(06:39) DoorDash culture

(08:40) The WeDash program

(13:16) How Keith was able to lead so many different teams at DoorDash

(16:08) Hiring the best experts and then getting out of their way

(18:21) The \u201cHow to Work with Keith\u201d document

(21:52) How and why Keith helps his employees land new jobs

(27:22) How he leverages empathy to unify board members

(29:26) The importance of assigning a decision maker and a time horizon for the decision

(31:15) One-on-ones with Keith, and the T3 B3 framework from Uber

(33:12) How to encourage constructive criticism from employees

(34:49) What it\u2019s like to lead in tough times and why it can actually make your org stronger

(37:42) How creating urgency compounds gains

(39:11) IPO day at DoorDash

(40:20) The characteristics of top founders

(41:33) How the pandemic impacted DoorDash

(44:40) Advice for new parents that is applicable in business\xa0

(45:24) The difficulty of gaining funding

(46:58) Advice for founders struggling with fundraising

(48:02) How Keith developed a strong relationship with the VP of Product and Design

(50:27) Building an effective BD team within a product company

(52:36) How to engage with legal teams

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.