The Hard Thing About Hard Things
There is no formula for the hardest problems in building a company. Management books teach you to avoid mistakes; this one teaches you what to do when you've already made them.
by Ben Horowitz
My take
Every startup has easy problems and hard problems. The easy ones anyone can solve. The hard ones — the ones with no right answer — are what define you as a leader.
What is The Hard Thing About Hard Things about?
There is no formula for the hardest problems in building a company. Management books teach you to avoid mistakes; this one teaches you what to do when you've already made them.
Who should read The Hard Thing About Hard Things?
Founders, operators, and leaders who have run into problems that no playbook covers.
Key ideas from The Hard Thing About Hard Things
- •The hard things are hard because there's no formula
- •Hire for strength, not lack of weakness
- •Managing your own psychology is your most important job.
Is The Hard Thing About Hard Things worth reading?
The anti-motivational entrepreneurship book — honest, specific, and written by someone who lived through the hardest moments and built a billion-dollar firm anyway.
How to apply the ideas in The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Do not read it as a collection of quotes. Choose a live problem in your work, return to the thesis, and test one idea in context. The value is in the friction between Ben Horowitz’s argument and the constraints of your own situation.
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