The Hard Thing About Hard Things

The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz

Summary

A Silicon Valley favourite from Ben Horowitz. He's the Horowitz in Andreesen Horowitz - one of the most successful venture firms in the US. Didn't love the book but would recommend it for CEOs and executives running companies

Rating: 3/5

Notes

The struggle is where greatness comes from

Even when you think there is no move, there is always a move

Tell everyone like it is, even if it sucks

Nobody cares, just run your company

Hire for world leading strengths rather than lack of weaknesses

Always train your people

The price for not giving feedback, systemically crappy company performance

The right ambition is ambition for the person’s own success as a result of the company’s success

Focus on the things you need to get right, not the things you did wrong

Focus on where you’re going rather than what you hope to avoid

Leadership, articulating a vision, right kind of ambition and ability to achieve the vision

A CEO must be able to tell a good story

Key to entrepreneurship: embrace the struggle

***

Buy the book here

Free E-book download here

Make Something Wonderful   
Steve Jobs         

Summary

The life of Steve Jobs in his own words

Rating: 5/5

Notes

Make something wonderful and put it out there

‘You appear, have a chance to blaze in the sky, then you disappear’

When you’re a stranger in a place, you notice thing you don’t otherwise (Jobs after India trip)

Whenever you start with nothing, always shoot for the moon. You have nothing to lose.

You never achieve what you want without falling on your face a few times

Never be afraid to fail. You never achieve what you want without falling flat on your face a few times

We are never taught to listen to our intuitions, to develop and nurture them. But if you do pay attention to these subtle insights, you can make them come true

Creativity equals connecting previously unrelated experiences and insights others don’t see

Believe that some of what you follow with your heart will come back and make your life richer. And it will. And you will gain even firmer trust on your instincts and intuitions

Make your avocation your vocation. Make what you love your work.

The journey is the reward. The reward isn’t in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it’s in crossing the rainbow

To find A+ talent, if experienced, look at their track record and results

The world we know is a human creation and we can push it forward

The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do (read whole ad ‘here’s to the crazy ones)

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit - Aristotle

Hire people better than you are

You can’t plan to meet the people who will change your life

It’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward, but they make sense looking backwards so you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future

Everything around you that you call life was made up by people no smarter than you

***

Buy the book here

Free E-book download here

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Notes and Quotes
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The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz

Summary

A Silicon Valley favourite from Ben Horowitz. He's the Horowitz in Andreesen Horowitz - one of the most successful venture firms in the US. Didn't love the book but would recommend it for CEOs and executives running companies

Rating: 3/5

Notes

The struggle is where greatness comes from

Even when you think there is no move, there is always a move

Tell everyone like it is, even if it sucks

Nobody cares, just run your company

Hire for world leading strengths rather than lack of weaknesses

Always train your people

The price for not giving feedback, systemically crappy company performance

The right ambition is ambition for the person’s own success as a result of the company’s success

Focus on the things you need to get right, not the things you did wrong

Focus on where you’re going rather than what you hope to avoid

Leadership, articulating a vision, right kind of ambition and ability to achieve the vision

A CEO must be able to tell a good story

Key to entrepreneurship: embrace the struggle

***

Buy the book here

Free E-book download here