Travel is a fast-moving, complex industry that crosses borders and relies on constant innovation and human connection. Over 25 years, Booking grew from near collapse to a $180 billion company, demonstrating leadership lessons about navigating rapid change, technology, and customer expectations. Successful leaders are forward-looking and cultivate adaptability by recognizing change early and investing before trends are certain. Adaptability requires daily practice and clarity of purpose; Booking's mission—'To make it easier for everyone to experience the world'—provides alignment. The rise of generative and agentic AI signals a new epoch of change and underscores the need to proactively disrupt oneself rather than be disrupted.
Travel is one of the fastest-moving and most complicated industries in the world. It crosses borders and systems, depends on constant innovation, and at its heart, relies on human connection. Over the past 25 years, I've seen our business grow from the brink of collapse during the dot-com crash to a $180 billion company today. That journey has taught me a lot about leadership, including how to navigate rapid change, whether it's new technology like AI, global disruptions, or evolving customer expectations.
This adaptability is a muscle that needs to be stretched daily for a business to survive and thrive and it requires clarity of purpose. In Booking's case, our mission-"To make it easier for everyone to experience the world"-serves as a steadying force, enabling teams to adjust their approach to stay aligned to what matters most. With the rapid advent of generative AI, and now,
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