During the pandemic, I realized that as a leader, I needed to provide certainty to my employees amidst the uncertainty they were facing.

We had to make tough decisions during the pandemic, including layoffs, but I aimed to do it with compassion and transparency.

Starbucks was seven months away from insolvency, and I had to communicate the gravity of our situation to employees, emphasizing that we were trying to save the company.

I was deeply depressed during the turmoil at Zenefits, but I realized I wanted the product to exist and that no one else would build it if I didn't.

Even during tough times, it's important to prioritize payroll and ensure no one on the team experiences missed or delayed payments.

When faced with the decision to lay off employees, my co-founder George and I chose to uphold our core values instead and kept the entire team together, asking everyone to take deep cuts to weather the storm.

I want every person at the company to be aware of everything else going on, so they can independently make decisions that are generally correct.

I felt like an impostor when I had to tell my team that we would keep paying them despite not having an office anymore.

Every December, we give our company time off, which started in 2009. I began a tradition of picking a travel destination on December 26th and flying out the next day with just one bag, embracing the unknown.