Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Ben Horowitz

Cover of The Hard Thing About Hard Things
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
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Leadership#startups#leadership

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Written byBen Horowitz

Most business books explain how to do things right. Horowitz writes about what to do when everything goes wrong. Drawing on his years as a startup CEO, he gives honest advice on the hardest parts of leading a company.

  • Published2014
  • GenreLeadership
  • Key ideas5
  • Summary1 min read

Read it if you…

  • lead a team, a family or a project

The summary

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  1. 01There's no recipe

    Hard problems rarely have a formula. Leaders have to make tough calls without clear answers.

  2. 02Tell it like it is

    Be honest with your team about problems. Trust grows when people hear the truth.

  3. 03The struggle is normal

    Every founder hits dark moments. Keep focusing on what you can do next.

  4. 04Look after the people first

    Take care of people, then products, then profits — in that order.

  5. 05Hire for strength, not lack of weakness

    Choose people for what they do brilliantly rather than for having no flaws.

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There's no recipe

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