The Hard Thing about Hard Things

THE HARD THING ABOUT HARD THINGS: Building A Business When There Are No Easy Answers 

By Ben Horowitz

Owning a business or being a CEO may seem enviable, but in reality, it’s full of challenges. The hardest thing is, there are no fixed formulas you can follow. In this book, Ben Horowitz, a respected and experienced entrepreneur and venture capitalist, offers practical tips and advice for dealing with the “hard things” in business that have no clear answers.

In this summary, you’ll learn:
• The “hard things” that come with building and running a business, including what it means to build something from nothing, run out of cash & face bankruptcy, lay off people & fire executives/friends, keep people motivated during a crisis, find solutions in impossible situations, and rebuild a business after it collapses; and
• Important tips on building a business, including how to hire the right people, introduce training in a startup, and how to scale and manage a growing company (e.g. avoiding “management debt”, managing politics, scaling the business etc.); and
• How to hold the company together when things fall apart, including how to manage your mindspace as the CEO, why you should tell things as they are, how to lay off people or fire senior executives; and
• The differences between a “wartime” vs “peacetime” CEO, and how to become a better CEO.

Who should read this:
• CEOs, leaders, managers, and senior executives
• Entrepreneurs and business owners
• Anyone who wants to learn what it takes to own or run a business