Sometimes I don’t like talking about books I’ve read for fear of you recognizing their influence on me.
I should be so lucky this effect takes place after inhaling Ben Horowitz’s masterpiece – “The Hard Thing About Hard Things”.
Horowitz, one half of the Silicon Valley powerhouse VC Andreessen Horowitz, launched his career at Netscape, then became co-founder and CEO of LoudCloud, which he sold for $ 1.6 billion after nearly going bankrupt several times. Today, he has a weekly blog with ten million followers. His book makes it clear why his fandom is so immense.
“The Hard Thing About Hard Things” has one specific purpose: to coach CEO’s on how to be CEO’s. It’s what Horowitz dishes out professionally as a revered Silicon Valley mentor. Through his day job and his own coming of age experience as a young CEO, he realized there is no owner’s manual for being a business owner.
Running a company or an enterprise isn’t easy. Who do you confide in? Tell your employees too much and they may get spooked. Unleash your challenges with your board and soon you’ll be unemployed and unemployable. Let your clients in on your secret fears and your competitor will be happily exceeding their monthly sales targets.
What Horowitz produced is not so much a book, but a friend. Less of a business classic and more of a daily game plan. There is no preaching, though I’m now a convert.
I’m not going to share any of the amazing content with you. It’s up to you if you want to put the effort in by reading this energizing dish or perhaps choosing a less inspirational snack, like observing the impact on someone who has, such as yours truly.