First is the willingness to choose the hard resolution to a problem. Why the food that I’m eating no longer tastes good. Facing such an issue in the private market, the board of Loudcloud decided to take the company public. You must know how to hire and fire quickly and ensure fair treatment and constant training. Not even your mom. Sign up for my newsletter and download the Reader's Kit. In The Hard Things About The Hard Things, he gives us a detailed description of the lessons he learned from running a company, saving it from bankruptcy – a couple of times – and later selling it. But there is more to starting a business than just thinking about it, and Ben Horowitz faces this challenge head-on. Seven months after they launched it in 1999 they had booked $10 million in contracts. Even with all the advice and hindsight in the world, hard things will continue to be hard things. Hard Earned Lessons From Ben Horowitz Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Ben Horowitz gets real in his recently released book The Hard Thing About The Hard Things. The book is surely quite different from all the other business books that mostly talk about business plans and meetings. Winners do not quit. If you’re dreaming about becoming a CEO, you should read this book. Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup — practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover. The hard thing isn’t hiring great people. Make sure that when you lay off, you do it the right way. Go ask an expert or a rubber duck for advice. A good technique is called “Shit sandwich.” For each difficult or delicate topic, always try to put it between two other positive topics. Boost your life and career with the best book summaries. Companies are like a roller coaster and have their ups and downs. We recommend this part-autobiography, part guidebook book to everyone who is setting off to build a company or is going through a business struggle. You can’t predict the future, that’s for sure. Being a CEO is being able to bet when there are no options. The Hard Thing About Hard Things Review. If you are in a crisis, you will most probably need to cut your staff. The second is the acquisition focused on bringing the purchased company’s products so the buyer can sell them to their current customers and thus expand their product portfolio. Instead, fire people as soon as you decide to do so. Undeserved promotions, gossip, and conflicts between areas are evils which must be cut at the root. However, one of the most important rites is the one-to-one meetings each executive and manager must have their direct reports. Running Your Growing Company 3. These discrepancies can create problems in the work expectations regarding speed and goals to be achieved in the company at different times. Entrepreneurs who make it share one characteristic: They do not quit. The life and death of the company are in your hands and depend on your decisions. What do you think will happen? You’ll learn about hiring for strengths rather than weaknesses, how to set expectations, the importance of trust, and how to choose the right metrics to track. Read On: Jan 2015 Reading Time: 9 hours Rating: 8/10. Many companies say that communication is a priority, but few really know that a big company relies on taking care of the people who make it. The Shit Sandwich is a popular technique for giving feedback to your employees. focusing on developing the business despite adversity, but this positively changed the company’s history, In times of peace, the CEO focus is on developing the creativity of its employees. Can I do that? Running Your Growing Company In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, draws on his own story of founding, running, selling, buying, managing, and investing in technology … Besides, training should be constant and always revisited. I was expecting more about struggles and obstacles, but found I actually liked the balance between the three parts: the struggle of a leader, how to build a company that lasts and what it takes to be a great CEO. If a CEO does not take action on badly performing professionals and does not communicate the facts according to the company’s expectations, rumors spread, and some stop believing in the culture and management of the company. But complaining, or hoping and wearing your lucky underwear won’t do you much of a favor. It is essential to create an environment that is transparent and has regular performance evaluations, making it difficult to promote people who do not achieve their goals or only become involved in political intrigues. Being a CEO is a difficult, lonely and challenging task. At these times, it is crucial to be fair and engage with those being fired. Start-ups were collapsing all over the place, and Loudcloud’s investors started backing out. The Hard Thing About Learning Hard Things. One rule of thumb is to not sell if you have the advantage of first moving into a large market that you believe will lead. Synopsis: Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup – practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog. MicroSummary: Silicon Valley legend Ben Horowitz’s The Hard Thing About Hard Things is a no-nonsense peek into the challenging world of startups. Does she not like me?” Everybody will naturally focus on the issues, not an implicit random performance evaluation.” Ben Horowitz. The VP of sales who had several weaknesses but was extremely qualified was much better than a perfect candidate with few flaws. Ben Horowitz – one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced investors – decided to go beyond his popular blog and share his insights on the challenges of startups in a book. This architecture includes standard meetings, processes, etc. The “idea moment” comes with joy, pride, and excitement. You will realize your product has flaws that are expensive to fix. Always communicate to your employees the importance of their roles and how their work will be evaluated to ensure the company’s performance continues to evolve. 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