What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture

by Ben Horowitz

I based our system in the Melanics on belonging and loyalty. It started with selection. I would be very clear that there were two requirements. You either had to be willing to serve a life sentence for whatever we asked you to do, or be willing to die. Once in, in order to stay in, you had to carry yourself in a certain way. You couldn’t use the N-word, or profanity. If you smoked, you couldn’t smoke while wearing your membership badge. You couldn’t get caught by the guards smoking weed or drinking prison wine, because this showed a lack of intelligence and self-control. You couldn’t do anything that would be perceived as weak or disrespectful. Your shoes had to be clean and your prison blues had to be neat and pressed. In addition, you had to work out every day and dine with us in the chow hall. I emphasized discipline and bonding.