Add a Zero

"The exercise of what would it take to be 10X bigger or do something 10 times better? Because what you find is when you push people, they will sometimes think about the problem differently. And one of the best ways to get unstuck from a problem is to imagine a 10X scale or 10X better or 10X faster where you can't do the current process to do it." - Brian Chesky

What It Is

Add a Zero is a mental exercise where you imagine achieving 10X the current goal—whether that's scale, quality, or speed. The purpose isn't necessarily to commit to the bigger number, but to force a fundamentally different way of thinking about the problem.

When teams optimize for incremental improvement, they stay within the constraints of their current approach. But when you add a zero, you can't just work harder or do more of the same—you have to think about the problem differently. This breaks you out of local optimization and forces first-principles thinking.

The framework was a well-known practice inside Airbnb, where Chesky would challenge teams to "add a zero" to their goals, often resulting in teams actually hitting the seemingly impossible target because they rethought their approach.

How It Works

The mechanism works through constraint breaking:

Incremental thinking (current approach):

How do we improve conversion by 5%?
How do we reduce costs by 10%?
How do we ship this feature 2 weeks faster?

Add a Zero thinking (forced paradigm shift):

How do we 10X conversion? (Can't optimize existing funnel—must fundamentally change the product)
How do we reduce costs by 90%? (Can't negotiate harder—must eliminate entire cost categories)
How do we ship 10X faster? (Can't work weekends—must change what we're building or how)

Why it works:

At 10X scale, your current process is impossible
You must break the problem into its foundational components
You have to reconstruct from first principles
You discover assumptions you didn't know you had

How to Apply It

Start with the current goal - Whatever the team has proposed, take it seriously as their genuine target
Add a zero - Ask "What would it take to do this 10X bigger/better/faster?"
Don't dismiss it immediately - The point isn't to agree it's achievable, but to explore what would need to change
Break it down - What are the foundational elements? What would have to be true?
Look for insights - Often the 10X thinking reveals approaches that make the original goal easier
Set the tempo - Use this as a tool to push pace and ambition, not to demoralize

When to Use It

When teams feel stuck in incremental optimization
When you need to challenge underlying assumptions
When a team has settled into "good enough" thinking
When exploring new opportunities or markets
When the current approach has hit diminishing returns
During strategic planning sessions

When NOT to Use It

When teams are already overloaded and need focus, not expansion
When the current goal is already appropriately ambitious
When used punitively rather than as a thinking tool
When the team lacks the context to reason about 10X scenarios

The Psychology

Chesky references John Wooden's insight that a leader's job is to "see potential in people that they may not even see in themselves." When you tell someone "you can do better," you're either saying:

Fixed mindset interpretation: "You're not good enough"
Growth mindset interpretation: "I believe you have more potential than you're showing"

The Add a Zero exercise works in a growth mindset culture. It signals belief in the team's capability, not dissatisfaction with their effort.

Source

Guest: Brian Chesky
Episode: "Brian Chesky's new playbook"
Key Discussion: (00:46:32) - "Add a zero" philosophy and first principles thinking
YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

Founder Mode - The leadership context where this tool is most effective
[First Principles Thinking] - Breaking problems into foundational components