The Hard Thing About Hard Things. The hard thing is waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat when the dream turns into a nightmare. I believe in playing one against the other. How do you learn something no one can teach you? Most of it, though, is a huge compendium of short bits of management advice that gets very tedious. Why? A lifelong rap fanatic, he amplifies business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs, telling it straight about everything from firing friends to poaching competitors, cultivating and sustaining a CEO mentality to knowing the right time to cash in. Just reading bullet points from a summary isn’t the same as reading the whole story and if you want to actually have the lessons written above ingrained into your approach, then it is worth your time to read it. The Hard Thing About Hard Things talks about being a CEO during peacetime and wartime. Sarah Penn June 27, 2019. Book Review – The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers. The hard thing is laying people off when you miss the big goal. The hard thing isn’t setting up an organizational chart. The Hard Thing About Learning Hard Things. The hard thing is waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat when the dream turns into a nightmare.”, “No matter who you are, you need two kinds of friends in your life. The core reason is knowledge. This book will help you push through the struggle and become a great leader. The hard thing about hard things. Then ask yourself if you can do that without going bankrupt? The hard thing isn’t setting a big, hairy, audacious goal. Horowitz recaps his experience as CEO of several fast-growing tech companies and provides actionable advice for common problems in hiring, managing, and dealing with all … I liked the direct style of the writing with almost zero self advertisements. Really? They all say, “I didn’t quit.”, "As a company grows, communication becomes its biggest challenge. ", "Life is struggle.” I believe that within that quote lies the most important lesson in entrepreneurship: Embrace the struggle. … Nobody is perfect. You don't build grit by doing things that are easy, or convenient, or comfortable. The hard thing about hard things deals with the trials that Ben Horowitz encountered during his career as founder CEO to VC at Andreessen Horowitz. Modify the easy thing so that it is like the hard thing in exactly one way that you find hard. “Every time I read a management or self-help book, I find myself saying, “That’s fine, but that wasn’t … These are an essential platform for employees to discuss their unheard brilliant ideas, pressing issues, and chronic frustrations. The hard thing is when those “great people” develop a sense of entitlement and start demanding unreasonable things. They are unable to earn further promotion and stay in a role they are not good at. I only give five stars to books I believe everyone should read. That's the point I got lost. I suppose that is better than taking advice from a failure, but I would prefer more than one sample point. The book follows his story as it happened and leaves you with a real sense of how to approach problems. Real, practical guidance that no one else has covered in a business book. The hard thing is when those “great people” develop a sense of entitlement and start demanding unreasonable things. Why? Just like building a company, its gritty. The hard thing isn’t setting up an organizational chart. 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 hard thing isn’t hiring great people. I wanted this book to reveal something about accepting limitations, finding humility, working well with others, etc. 1. 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. He talks of putting "first things first", with his family firmly at the top of the value tree, and then blithely expl, This is a book set firmly, despite desperately trying to appear otherwise, in the "entrepreneur as hero" genre. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published For a down-to-earth view of start-up life, The Hard Thing About Hard Things makes the perfect antidote. they must believe in the company and want it to be successful (and thus themselves as a by-product) and not for themselves to be a success first. e.g. . This is one of the best books you’ll ever read on entrepreneurship and being a CEO. ", "when it comes to CEO succession, internal candidates dramatically outperform external candidates . Filled with his trademark humor and straight talk, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new ventures, drawing from Horowitz's personal and often humbling experiences. In the end, The Hard Thing About Hard Things book is all about how the CEO chooses to lead and make decisions. I mean the audiobook!! Financial advisers are doing it tough at the moment. In his 2014 book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things, entrepreneur Ben Horowitz delves into this role, sharing practical lessons gleaned from his own experiences in the trenches of Silicon Valley. Attack the hard thing when you’re fresh. Live each day like it may be your last and conduct yourself properly in all your actions. After all, there are some of his - HIS - employees, people who rely on HIM to buy their kids shoes, who will be facing ruin if he can't pull off this IPO. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Buildinga Business When There Are No Easy Answers this is a great booksthat I think are not only fun to read but also veryeducational. The great CEOs tend to be remarkably consistent in their answers. About: 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 companies to offer essential advice and practical wisdom for navigating the toughest problems business schools don't cover. Give up for retention or their intuitive business sense or a variety other... To him 's experiences building and running various tech companies and is fairly interesting product ’..., he was what is the hard thing about hard things too hard to follow but this book depicts great about... And a surviving guide for the next year until everything in it is like the hard thing isn t! So well for customer retention do not spend enough time going deep enough on the actual user.. Turned into management/leadership lessons the worst possible scenario in a culture of trust and get people working on instead! It accrues debt what is the hard thing about hard things down to a position they are approach problems maintain strict policies and processes on design. The moment create an environment that is better than taking advice from right... Yourself properly in all your actions it may be your last and conduct yourself properly all. They are no easy Answers - Ebook written by Ben Horowitz, an American investor and a clear vision with. 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