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The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
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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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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
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
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
If you got advice from someone you found really annoying - even if it was good advice from an interesting perspective - would you be able to get over how annoying the person talking your ear off is?
That's basically where I am with this book. I think his advice is really interesting, and it's clear that a lot of the lessons he's learned throughout the course of his career were earned withblood and sweat, but ultimately, I'm not sure I can get past how annoying I found the voice he was writing in
...more
That's basically where I am with this book. I think his advice is really interesting, and it's clear that a lot of the lessons he's learned throughout the course of his career were earned with
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
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
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
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
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
I can't take insights from someone who has so little insight about himself.
Cases in point: As a white boy, you do not have to call yourself the "Jackie Robinson of barbecue". You can just say you are good at barbecuing. Or say nothing, really because it's irrelevant.
That fact that your grandfather once WENT to a black neighborhood is not a story. Seriously you should not tell people that, because IT'S NOT A STORY.
The fact that you bullied your wife into going on her first date with you, is ki ...more
Cases in point: As a white boy, you do not have to call yourself the "Jackie Robinson of barbecue". You can just say you are good at barbecuing. Or say nothing, really because it's irrelevant.
That fact that your grandfather once WENT to a black neighborhood is not a story. Seriously you should not tell people that, because IT'S NOT A STORY.
The fact that you bullied your wife into going on her first date with you, is ki ...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.
Horowitz is the most prominent VC firm in the valley. This book depicts great stories about the struggle from Horowitz. Initial few chapters are good and the reader gets more curious especially how his business was transformed from selling cloud solutions to pure software based. How they pivot on initial phase. However, after 2-3 chapters, I got lost since this book turned into management/leadership lessons. That's the point I got lost. I was hoping that Horowitz will talk more about personal jo
...more
This book was a game changer for me. I started reading it in the middle of my biggest struggle as a founder and CEO of Neoteric (#32 on Deloitte Technology Fast 50 CE). It was recommended by my co-founder, Mateusz Paprocki.
Ben shares tough stories here. He says what he fucked up and how did he manage to make it up. It helped me to trust my instincts and bet my decisions during company transformation on the values I live by. It's only 1 month since I started implementing the changes and I already ...more
Ben shares tough stories here. He says what he fucked up and how did he manage to make it up. It helped me to trust my instincts and bet my decisions during company transformation on the values I live by. It's only 1 month since I started implementing the changes and I already ...more
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.
great lessons about running startups, hiring people, managing people, being ceo in good and bad times. I liked the direct style of the writing with almost zero self advertisements.
This very personal book is a detailed manual on how to be the CEO of a technology company with 300 employees. It is unashamedly based on the author’s experiences and it’s “straight from the heart,” as they say.
I once owned and ran a tech startup that never got to more than 35, so I’m poorly qualified to comment on the quality of most of the advice.
• I never had to demote a loyal friend. I tried to give my loyal friend Tassos fewer shares than my co-founder Marko, but he did not accept and I bac ...more
I once owned and ran a tech startup that never got to more than 35, so I’m poorly qualified to comment on the quality of most of the advice.
• I never had to demote a loyal friend. I tried to give my loyal friend Tassos fewer shares than my co-founder Marko, but he did not accept and I bac ...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
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
6 stars. Even 10 stars. This is the best business book I've ever read. Hands down. Just like building a company, its gritty. It's a book about the hard things.
I think part of the reason I loved this book so much is because it struck an emotional cord. I've been through those sleepless nights, lived through months of those pit in the gut, sick, 'I think I might vomit' feelings. During certain chapters I got chills. For a moment, the hair on my back and arms raised. I felt that humbling, pit in m ...more
I think part of the reason I loved this book so much is because it struck an emotional cord. I've been through those sleepless nights, lived through months of those pit in the gut, sick, 'I think I might vomit' feelings. During certain chapters I got chills. For a moment, the hair on my back and arms raised. I felt that humbling, pit in m ...more
Мені подобається, як ця книжка починається. Відразу ріже по живому:
- не складно придумати ГУЧНУ ціль, складно звільняти людей, якщо її не досяг
- … складно, якщо люди починають вимагати неможливого
- … складно заставити людей комунікувати у щойно стовреній компанії
- і ще багато отаких "складно".
Це книжка, розділи якої я інколи перечитую як підручник.
Резюме: нема формули для складних речей. І для вирішення всіх поблем теж формули нема. Кожна ситуація інша, і її потрібно вирішувати найкращим для неї ...more
- не складно придумати ГУЧНУ ціль, складно звільняти людей, якщо її не досяг
- … складно, якщо люди починають вимагати неможливого
- … складно заставити людей комунікувати у щойно стовреній компанії
- і ще багато отаких "складно".
Це книжка, розділи якої я інколи перечитую як підручник.
Резюме: нема формули для складних речей. І для вирішення всіх поблем теж формули нема. Кожна ситуація інша, і її потрібно вирішувати найкращим для неї ...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 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
This book is 5☆ in the knowledge that we could get.
the writing style would be less because the author talked and praised himself too much. however I think it's fair because it's about his personal experiences and how he got over the hard things.
1 observation is that at the beginning of the book, there are lots of highlights but it drops near the end. Probably readers feel less engaged gradually with the book.
Will need to summarize the lesson-learnt and apply.
Overall it's still a 5☆. Thanks Ben!
the writing style would be less because the author talked and praised himself too much. however I think it's fair because it's about his personal experiences and how he got over the hard things.
1 observation is that at the beginning of the book, there are lots of highlights but it drops near the end. Probably readers feel less engaged gradually with the book.
Will need to summarize the lesson-learnt and apply.
Overall it's still a 5☆. Thanks Ben!
Читається на одному подиху, а читати треба кілька разів. Книга наповнена порадами, які вимагають трохи рефлексії, бо люди роблять бізнес успішним.
Пісні з епіграфів додав до свого списку улюблених пісень :)
Пісні з епіграфів додав до свого списку улюблених пісень :)
Every founding CEO should read this book!
Endless boring stories about how to handle situations when organizations are badly managed.
Entrepreneur turned venture capitalist Ben Horowitz wrote this book to teach entrepreneurs the truth about starting and running a business. This book comes highly recommended from many successful business people for its candour and insight.
Key Takeaways
There is no secret to being a world class CEO or leader: you just need the courage to make decisions when there are no easy answers.
Hard things are hard because there is no template or formula to deal with them. Many business books tell you how ...more
Key Takeaways
There is no secret to being a world class CEO or leader: you just need the courage to make decisions when there are no easy answers.
Hard things are hard because there is no template or formula to deal with them. Many business books tell you how ...more
It's not as relevant for someone who isn't thinking starting a business. However, it provides enough insight for those working in one to understand why some processes are the way they are. When the book discusses individuals regarding CEO -> relationships, those guidelines are transferable to the other side. Helps you understand business decisions from a CEO point of view.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| what recommendations would you make about this book? | 1 | 6 | Apr 02, 2018 07:23AM |
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
...more
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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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44 likes
“Until you make the effort to get to know someone or something, you don’t know anything.”
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26 likes
More quotes…
