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The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
by
Ben Horowitz (Goodreads Author)
A lot of people talk about how great it is to start a business, but only Ben Horowitz is brutally honest about how hard it is to run one.
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 inve ...more
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 inve ...more
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This is one of the best books you’ll ever read on entrepreneurship and being a CEO.
If you are a CEO, read this book.
If you aspire to be a CEO read this book.
If you are on a management team and want to understand what a CEO goes through, read this book.
If you are interested in entrepreneurship and want to understand it better, read this book.
On Friday, I spent the entire day with about 50 of the CEOs of companies we are investors in. Rand Fishkin of Moz put together a full day Foundry Group CEO S ...more
If you are a CEO, read this book.
If you aspire to be a CEO read this book.
If you are on a management team and want to understand what a CEO goes through, read this book.
If you are interested in entrepreneurship and want to understand it better, read this book.
On Friday, I spent the entire day with about 50 of the CEOs of companies we are investors in. Rand Fishkin of Moz put together a full day Foundry Group CEO S ...more
Executive Summary: This is a book about Ben Horowitz's war stories. Ben Horowitz has good war stories, if you care about the narrow space of Venture Backed fast growth technology startups. I'm not so sure that they generalize to the point of making a good management guide. You might be better off reading some Drucker.
First: the absolute preliminaries: Ben Horowitz co-founded LoudCloud with Marc Andreessen in 1999, with a plan to do enterprise managed services (what has now grown to the SaaS and ...more
First: the absolute preliminaries: Ben Horowitz co-founded LoudCloud with Marc Andreessen in 1999, with a plan to do enterprise managed services (what has now grown to the SaaS and ...more
I haven’t read many (any?) books that are written by CEO’s for CEO’s. If you are a CEO, aspire to be a CEO, or really, manage anyone - you need to read this book.
This quote is perhaps my favorite one from the book. At the top, nobody is there to tell you what to do. It’s easy to look at some leaders and wonder how they knew what to do to become so successful. Are they just really smart? The truth is that they likely did what everyone else in that situation has to do - get scrappy and just figur ...more
This quote is perhaps my favorite one from the book. At the top, nobody is there to tell you what to do. It’s easy to look at some leaders and wonder how they knew what to do to become so successful. Are they just really smart? The truth is that they likely did what everyone else in that situation has to do - get scrappy and just figur ...more
This is the very best business book I have ever read.
I would estimate that I've read roughly 1,000. I've loved maybe 100. This one is in it's own category, a book that both documents the times about 12-15 years ago and paints a picture of what we can do today.
I cannot recommend it highly enough, and I cannot say more strongly: read it. If you know me - email me at my personal address and I'll buy it for you.
There are a few things that happen to an entrepreneur. I've faced down the belly of the ...more
I would estimate that I've read roughly 1,000. I've loved maybe 100. This one is in it's own category, a book that both documents the times about 12-15 years ago and paints a picture of what we can do today.
I cannot recommend it highly enough, and I cannot say more strongly: read it. If you know me - email me at my personal address and I'll buy it for you.
There are a few things that happen to an entrepreneur. I've faced down the belly of the ...more
It's hard for me give this a rating, as I haven't really read many other how-to business books. I liked the narrative section at the beginning of the book a bit better than the tactical advice section, but I think that's probably just how I prefer to get information. There are some great lessons in here for non-CEOs, but I suspect it's even more valuable for those who have founded and/or run a company.
I think most relevant and/or interesting to me were:
* Hiring for strength rather than lack of ...more
I think most relevant and/or interesting to me were:
* Hiring for strength rather than lack of ...more
Ben Horowitz joined Netscape in the very early days and proceeded to ride the internet wave all the way up, all the way down, and everywhere in between over the course of his career. In this memoir/business advice book, he recounts choice moments from his extensive career and shares information he found important along the way.
In a world filled with Rah-Rah You Can Do It! business books, I found the tone of this book incredibly refreshing. The opening paragraph gets right to the point that it do ...more
In a world filled with Rah-Rah You Can Do It! business books, I found the tone of this book incredibly refreshing. The opening paragraph gets right to the point that it do ...more
Superb and unique book for its target reader - the founding CEO of a software company. Real, practical guidance that no one else has covered in a business book.
Becomes rapidly less applicable the farther the reader is from the target. A few useful nuggets for non-founding CEOs, executives of non-software firms, and non-CEO founders, but this is by no means a generalist book on entrepreneurship or "business".
Largely collected from Horowitz' blog, so regular readers there will not find too much ne ...more
Becomes rapidly less applicable the farther the reader is from the target. A few useful nuggets for non-founding CEOs, executives of non-software firms, and non-CEO founders, but this is by no means a generalist book on entrepreneurship or "business".
Largely collected from Horowitz' blog, so regular readers there will not find too much ne ...more
This is not a book that I think many general readers would enjoy. The first part is about the author's experiences building and running various tech companies and is fairly interesting. Most of it, though, is a huge compendium of short bits of management advice that gets very tedious. It might be of interest if I were looking for a how-to book, but, even so, it seems to be based pretty heavily on the author's own experience, i.e., "I did this. I was successful. Ergo, this is the right thing to d
...more
It's a must read if you're into management + tech.
The hard thing about hard things is that nobody and nothing really prepares you for them.
The hard thing about hard things is that nobody and nothing really prepares you for them.
This was possibly the most useful management book I have ever read. Ben's personal stories along with key lessons and advice on how to handle those difficult decisions was amazing.
I'm not sure it would be of value to anyone who's not a founder CEO. However I think it's a must read for all founder CEOs who are in the process of building a big company, or trying to.
I should also throw in that's its a bit scary. Sometimes while in the grind you hold hope that someday everything will just get easie ...more
I'm not sure it would be of value to anyone who's not a founder CEO. However I think it's a must read for all founder CEOs who are in the process of building a big company, or trying to.
I should also throw in that's its a bit scary. Sometimes while in the grind you hold hope that someday everything will just get easie ...more
Most business books talk in the abstract: "empower your employees", "give good and frequent feedback", "don't sweat the small stuff". This is all well and good, but, as Ben Horowitz correctly points out, is more about the "What" than the "How". The hard part of building an A+ team is not realizing that you need to find people who have complementary strengths and can work together, but is rather that sometimes the right person doesn't look the part, works for a friend, or is not as smart as the u
...more
Nov 01, 2014
Sergei_kalinin
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
management,
start-up
Если характеризовать книгу двумя словами: "учебник прикладного менеджмента". Два важных уточнения: 1) именно "прикладного", а не теоретического; 2) по сути это такая "настольная книга CEO", включающая в себя рекомендации и по оперативному, и по стратегическому управлению.
Книга - это один большой кейс; где в роли кейса выступает карьера самого автора. Бен Хоровиц начинал как рядовой программист в компании SGI, потом работал в Netscape, потом в AOL и далее ещё в десятке-другом известнейших IT-ком ...more
Книга - это один большой кейс; где в роли кейса выступает карьера самого автора. Бен Хоровиц начинал как рядовой программист в компании SGI, потом работал в Netscape, потом в AOL и далее ещё в десятке-другом известнейших IT-ком ...more
I rarely read the same book twice, but I'm going to do just that with this book. In fact, I'm considering reading it once a month for the next year until everything in it is ingrained in my consciousness. Why? Because this book has the lessons I need in my business, right now. I'm in the midst of hiring my core team that is going to help us grow. I've gone through, and continue to go through, many of the challenges faced by Horowitz, albeit with fewer zeros on the ends of all the numbers. This b
...more
Maybe my expectations were too high, being a big fan of a16z and Ben, but the book only wins 3 stars from me. Great contents are loosely connected, scattered all over the book and because of this, it was a bit hard to concentrate on the book.
However, the core of the book is excellent - I have to admire the experiences and tough decisions that Ben had to make, and a lot of the stuff actually sent me digging up memories and reflecting upon many (too many) mistakes and bad decisions that I had pers ...more
However, the core of the book is excellent - I have to admire the experiences and tough decisions that Ben had to make, and a lot of the stuff actually sent me digging up memories and reflecting upon many (too many) mistakes and bad decisions that I had pers ...more
Horowitz has assembled a great collection of hard fought knowledge for future founding CEOs. I took away a lot from this book, despite neither being a CEO nor planning to be one. Anyone who intends to take a leadership role in a company, especially in high tech, should read it. The advice on hiring and firing is clear, succinct and valuable. I also got a lot of great insights on what to look for in product managers. While not entirely discouraging to would be entrepreneurs, Horowitz's vividly re
...more
This was an editing job for me and also I was not in the target audience, not one bit. However, the book flowed nicely and it had some very interesting points. I guess that if you are interested in these kinds of books, it is worth a read :) I will star it only based on the two points above.
2014 may be the year of reading books that I never thought I'd read. Like the Brene Brown book, this came to me through a recommendation from a friend; but whereas the Brown came from my humanities friend (Alex) from MakerSquare, this came from my business friend (Kelsey).
And it is very businessy. (Hence the new shelf I just created: "businessy.") If you, like me, never heard of Ben Horowitz before, the short version of his story is that he's a technology entrepreneur; he worked at Silicon Graph ...more
And it is very businessy. (Hence the new shelf I just created: "businessy.") If you, like me, never heard of Ben Horowitz before, the short version of his story is that he's a technology entrepreneur; he worked at Silicon Graph ...more
Every founding CEO should read this book!
The best business books I've read in years!
It's full of practical advice drawn from his own experience in the trenches.
Deals with the up and downs and the hard decisions tech startup CEOs face but no one talks about.
My favorite chapter was Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO: a very useful distinction since most management books only portray Peacetime CEOs and management techniques.
It's full of practical advice drawn from his own experience in the trenches.
Deals with the up and downs and the hard decisions tech startup CEOs face but no one talks about.
My favorite chapter was Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO: a very useful distinction since most management books only portray Peacetime CEOs and management techniques.
One of the best things I've read this year.
In theory, it's a book about being a CEO. Based on actual experience, filled with real-life stories, far away from being dry & theoretical. But in fact it's much more than that - it's a book about enterpreneurship, with a focus on leading a company. And ... it's awesome. Brutally straightforward, packed with interesting insights, "it's over" moments, hints about the most challenging moments authors has experienced (& any other CEO can experience ...more
In theory, it's a book about being a CEO. Based on actual experience, filled with real-life stories, far away from being dry & theoretical. But in fact it's much more than that - it's a book about enterpreneurship, with a focus on leading a company. And ... it's awesome. Brutally straightforward, packed with interesting insights, "it's over" moments, hints about the most challenging moments authors has experienced (& any other CEO can experience ...more
This book should be compulsory reading for all founders/CEOs. Ben very articulately takes you through the entire gamut of emotions you go through and the range of challenges you face as a founder and suggests very sensible ways to deal with them. By the end you will figure out why A16Z is supposed to be the best VC to have on board.
Some interesting insights, but nothing life-changing. I often felt like he was trying too hard to draw generalizations based on his experience at one particular company (Loudcloud/Opsware). And it's bizarre that he introduces each chapter with rap lyrics, often without any obvious connection to the chapter's topic.
This is absolutely about managing a tech business - and a large one. I guess that should have been obvious by who it is by and what the title is, but.. I guess I was expecting something more widely applicable. I thought it had some very good thoughts, and some of the advice is probably good for anyone looking to start a business, but this is more for people who already have the business. A lot of anecdotes about the businesses he ran, and tech and business stories to illustrate the points which
...more
Started off feeling super pandered to with use of feminine pronouns. By the end I felt like it was kind of effective. On the other hand, complete lack of women in the book was pretty disheartening.
Better than your average business book.
Better than your average business book.
No bullshit book about firing people you love and a surviving guide for the worst possible scenario in a company.
Refreshing, honest, easy to understand and insightful; even if you are not a Silcon Valley venture capitalist, high tech-high powered entrepreneur. This CEO is dedicated to providing practical leadership advice: how to hire, fire and scale and when to sell and when to spurn offers. Some of the advice is counterintuitive. He dismisses the "don't bring me a problem without bringing me a solution" management maxim by asking: If an employee can't solve the problem he encounters, do you really want h
...more
Although I dont agree with everything in this book, I think it is an amazing book!
For example I dont think swearing is really useful when trying to convey a point. I mean look at Vladimir Putin, just as an example, he does not swear at all, yet when he says something everyone goes quiet and listen. Look at Elon Musk, he does not swear, yet every word of his is like a profit's. Which shows that swearing adds power only when you have no power behind you as it is.
The other points were really good t ...more
For example I dont think swearing is really useful when trying to convey a point. I mean look at Vladimir Putin, just as an example, he does not swear at all, yet when he says something everyone goes quiet and listen. Look at Elon Musk, he does not swear, yet every word of his is like a profit's. Which shows that swearing adds power only when you have no power behind you as it is.
The other points were really good t ...more
So, you want to run a high tech company? Start here.
Ben Horowitz worked for Silicon Graphics and Lotus Development before teaming up with Marc Andreessen at Netscape, Loudcloud and Opsware. Together, they now operate Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm. This is the story about what Ben learned along the way.
Ten golden morsels:
~ My biggest single personal improvement as CEO occurred on the day when I stopped being too positive.
~ A company that discusses its problems freely and openly can ...more
Ben Horowitz worked for Silicon Graphics and Lotus Development before teaming up with Marc Andreessen at Netscape, Loudcloud and Opsware. Together, they now operate Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm. This is the story about what Ben learned along the way.
Ten golden morsels:
~ My biggest single personal improvement as CEO occurred on the day when I stopped being too positive.
~ A company that discusses its problems freely and openly can ...more
This is a fascinating and entertaining read from a grizzled CEO (now VC) who saved his company from bankruptcy (multiple times) by swinging it between million dollar deals like a sparkler on 4th of July. Horowitz offers a lot of interesting stories with some pretty hilarious quotes (like Marc Andreessen - "It's always darkest before it goes completely black") and fascinating large plays that sandwich fundamentals on how to hire and fire key employees, deal with performance issues, and scale a te
...more
Briefly, this is the best business book that I've read in 2014 so far.
Thinkg seriously to read it again.
باختصار ... أفضل كتاب قرأته هذا العام في عالم المال والأعمال.
عنذما يتكلم بين هوروتيز، بالتأكيد يجب على كل قيادي وشاب أعمال أن يسمع ماذا سيقول.
نقلاته الناجحة (بشكل مفجع) في عالم الأعمال تستحق التوثيق بكل شكل وهذا ما نجح به فعلاً من خلال هذا الكتاب، وأجمل ما في الكتاب تطرقه بشكل كبير على التفاصيل الصغيرة التي تهم القارئ (رجل الأعمال/القيادي).
يعلمك بين كيف توظف وكيف تفصل، كيف تتحدث مع المستثمري ...more
Thinkg seriously to read it again.
باختصار ... أفضل كتاب قرأته هذا العام في عالم المال والأعمال.
عنذما يتكلم بين هوروتيز، بالتأكيد يجب على كل قيادي وشاب أعمال أن يسمع ماذا سيقول.
نقلاته الناجحة (بشكل مفجع) في عالم الأعمال تستحق التوثيق بكل شكل وهذا ما نجح به فعلاً من خلال هذا الكتاب، وأجمل ما في الكتاب تطرقه بشكل كبير على التفاصيل الصغيرة التي تهم القارئ (رجل الأعمال/القيادي).
يعلمك بين كيف توظف وكيف تفصل، كيف تتحدث مع المستثمري ...more
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Ben Horowitz is the cofounder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs building the next generation of leading technology companies. The firm's investments include Airbnb, GitHub, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Previously, he was cofounder and CEO of Opsware, formerly Loudcloud, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard fo
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“Every time I read a management or self-help book, I find myself saying, “That’s fine, but that wasn’t really the hard thing about the situation.” The hard thing isn’t setting a big, hairy, audacious goal. The hard thing is laying people off when you miss the big goal. The hard thing isn’t hiring great people. The hard thing is when those “great people” develop a sense of entitlement and start demanding unreasonable things. The hard thing isn’t setting up an organizational chart. The hard thing is getting people to communicate within the organization that you just designed. The hard thing isn’t dreaming big. The hard thing is waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat when the dream turns into a nightmare.”
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“No matter who you are, you need two kinds of friends in your life. The first kind is one you can call when something good happens, and you need someone who will be excited for you. Not a fake excitement veiling envy, but a real excitement. You need someone who will actually be more excited for you than he would be if it had happened to him. The second kind of friend is somebody you can call when things go horribly wrong—when your life is on the line and you only have one phone call.”
—
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