The Hard Thing About Hard Things
by Ben Horowitz
Horowitz writes about the parts of running a company no one teaches: layoffs, firing friends, demoting loyal executives, managing your own psychology when everything is on fire. It is honest, specific and sometimes profane, drawn from his years running a struggling startup. The best management book for CEOs in trouble.
Read it if…
you run a company or a team through a hard period and want advice from someone who has.
Skip it if…
you want general leadership inspiration; this is operational and bleak in places.
Three things you will actually use
- Tell the truth to your team, fast.
- Take care of the people, the products and the profits, in that order.
- Manage your own psychology; it is the hardest job.
Do this first
Write the hardest conversation you are avoiding at work and the date you will have it.
Our verdict
Frank, specific and unflinching; a must for anyone running something.
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