Audible Book Review: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

 

Horowitz, co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, invites you to follow along his entrepreneurial journey--the highlights, the disappointments, and the challenges that left him and his team making decisions that could unleash success or lead to their company's demise. His resume features well-known companies in the technology space: Netscape, AOL, Loudcloud, Opsware, and Hewlett-Packard. He has had an amazing journey so far, and you can read his content here.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things came to me as a recommendation from Leigh Brown. It's not a book I would have grabbed from the virtual bookshelf. I am not a technology person. My husband was familiar with Loudcloud and Opsware, but this was the first time I had heard of them. Rest assured, however, that you don't need to be in the technology field or even aware of what those companies do to find value in this book. 

Rather than a step-by-step outline, The Hard Thing About Hard Things gives you a dose of reality. You will face tough choices. You might lose some friends to other companies. You could be a great founder and not a superb CEO. There will be sleepless nights in between celebrating successes.

• Horowitz shows you how to endure those sleepless nights by sharing the wisdom he has gained through decades of experience in prioritizing company culture and effectively hiring and training the people who help you drive results.
• He encourages you to embrace the struggle and to make the best move when there aren't any good ones.
• One chapter is dedicated to leading when you have no idea where you're going. Doesn't that sound like a lot of--if not all--start-ups?
• And in the final chapter, Horowitz humbly shares the lessons he learned during his entrepreneurial journey. 

If you're looking for real insights into what it takes to start a business, shift when needed, and make tough decisions, then The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz should be on your to-be-read list. 

• Listening Length ‏ : ‎ 7 hours and 57 minutes
• Author ‏ : ‎ Ben Horowitz
• Narrator ‏ : ‎ Kevin Kenerly
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 4, 2014
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Business
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00I0A6HUO
• Version ‏ : ‎ Unabridged

I used an Audible credit to purchase this book. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.