Case Study: Axon

How the CEO of Axon Reclaimed His Focus—and Now Spends 70% of His Communication Time in Carbon Voice

Rick Smith on the future of asynchronous leadership, flow state, and the human side of work

Rick Smith, Axon CEO & Founder

Background

Rick Smith is the Founder & CEO of Axon, the company behind the TASER and a suite of public safety technologies, with a mission to Protect Life and make the bullet obsolete. As a founder leading a global, mission-critical business, Rick has spent decades balancing scale with humanity—seeking tools that let him lead more effectively without losing time, flow, or connection.

In 2015, a sabbatical in Europe while remaining CEO unlocked a new insight: asynchronous voice could completely rewire how leaders communicate.

Learn more about Rick: LinkedIn, Axon, Axon Boldly Go Podcast

Challenge

Traditional communication tools were working against him:

• Constant disruptions: Real-time calls and messages shattered focus and required calendar gymnastics.

• Inefficient typing: Whether thumbing on a phone or pecking at a keyboard, writing was time-consuming and unnatural.

• Human disconnection: Most tools reduced leadership to reading and typing, removing the human cues that make communication effective.

• Voicemail bottlenecks: Legacy voice systems required manual notes, callbacks, and often resulted in dead ends.

• Reading On-the-go: Rick gets motion sick when reading in a car—making traditional tools unusable during travel even if not driving.

“It’s like playing calendar Tetris. Phone calls break your flow, and voicemails just create more work.”

Solution: Carbon Voice 

Rick adopted Carbon Voice as his primary communication method—replacing most live calls, emails, and Slack messages with asynchronous voice notes, supported by powerful AI tools.

• Flow-first communication: Rick communicates on his schedule, without breaking deep work to answer calls or emails.

• Multimodal flexibility: Whether walking through an airport or sitting in the office, Rick switches seamlessly between talking, reading, and replying.

• AI summaries and speed playback: He listens at 2x speed, uses summaries to skip verbosity, and sends voice notes 4x faster than typing.

• Human connection: Unlike Slack or email, voice lets him stay connected to his team’s emotions, energy, and intent.

“I spend 60–70% of my communication time in Carbon Voice. It’s efficient and enjoyable. I get to hear people, and they hear me. It’s like I’m in 5 meetings at once, but without all the scheduling hassle.”

Results

✅ Reclaimed flow: Rick leaves his ringer off. Work fits around his schedule, not the other way around.

✅ Asynchronous leadership: Morning and evening time slots let him respond deeply without being interrupted.

✅ Efficient multitasking: He listens while walking, driving, or in transit—without ever needing to stop and type.

✅ Reduced friction: Conversations are fast, human, and conclusive—no more games of phone tag.

✅ Unlocked otherwise unusable time: Carbon Voice lets him stay productive while on the road during business travel and commutes by listening instead of reading.

“Carbon Voice lets me move at the speed of thought, without sacrificing connection. I talk 4x faster than I type, and I listen 2x faster than most people talk. That kind of gain changes how I lead.”

Rick's View of leadership has evolved: “Most tools were designed for typing and reading. But humans were meant to talk - and listen. Carbon Voice gets us back to that. It's focused, fluid, and fundamentally human.”

🧠 Want to lead without losing focus?

Carbon Voice helps modern leaders stay in flow, communicate with clarity, and move faster—without the chaos of live calls or endless typing.

👉 Try Carbon Voice and build a smarter, more human way to lead.