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The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers Hardcover – March 4, 2014

by Ben Horowitz (Author)

891 customer reviews

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Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog.

While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run one. Ben Horowitz analyzes the problems that confront leaders every day, sharing the insights he’s gained developing, managing, selling, buying, investing in, and supervising technology companies. A lifelong rap fanatic, he amplifies business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs, telling it straight about everything from firing friends to poaching competitors, cultivating and sustaining a CEO mentality to knowing the right time to cash in.

Filled with his trademark humor and straight talk, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new ventures, drawing from Horowitz's personal and often humbling experiences.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* It’s fairly evident that this is a collection of blogs, loosely strung together, united in their varied perspectives on start-ups, CEO-dom, and business in general. Though Horowitz is a cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and his credentials reside mainly in Silicon Valley, he’s imparted some valuable insight on hard lessons learned that apply to any manager, whether in the executive suite or not. As with most experiential books, it is all about him—but it’s written in such an engaging and universally acceptable manner that no one could object. Leave aside his background, for the moment. Who would realize, for instance, that executives worry about things like initiating layoffs, hiring the right people, training, and minimizing politics, among others? It’s a refreshingly honest take, and his colorful (and, yes, profanity-laced) language breaks down any other misperceptions about the role and the person. Plus, his imagination is compelling, such as the comparisons between peacetime and wartime CEOs: Peacetime CEO always has a contingency plan. Wartime CEO knows that sometimes you gotta roll a hard six. After all, the success equation is easy: the hard thing is getting it done. --Barbara Jacobs

Review

“More than any other business book released this year, “Hard Things” gives an insider’s perspective on what it’s like to lead and scale a startup.” (--Business Insider's Best Business Books of 2014)

“This is easily one of the essential books every business leader should read if they’re looking for proven and honest management advice.” (--Entrepreneur's 25 Amazing Business Books from 2014)

“The most valuable book on startup management hands down” (PandoDaily)

“There is more than enough substance in Mr. Horowitz’s impressive tome to turn it into a leadership classic.” (The Economist)

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Product details

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: HarperBusiness (March 4, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062273205
ISBN-13: 978-0062273208
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 891 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Books > Business & Money > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > New Business Enterprises
- #59 in Books > Business & Money > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Entrepreneurship
- #69 in Books > Business & Money > Management & Leadership > Management

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Top customer reviews

Hard things do not have to make hard people - they can make real people for others to rely upon.

ByCurt Rhodeson October 6, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Excellent, pithy, straightforward from gut to gut. A strong dose of reality re the ideas of entrepreneurship and leadership (which are separate, and sometimes not complementary, human drivers). It underscores the old saw, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." There are no answers, only clarity of the struggle to stick to the path of "aloneness," and yet to have a network of "others" who believe in you, challenge you, push you, and cover your rear. Reflecting about the lessons I took/take from this exposure to hard reality is harder than I would have imagined - to go from reflection to action.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

An intimate conversation with a gamechanging entrepreneur.

Bystonyhillon June 14, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

If you ever have a chance to have a deep, one-on-one conversation with a singular force like Ben Horowitz, drop everything to make it happen. But the remarkable thing about this remarkable book (see what I did there?) is that for each reader, Ben makes makes you feel like you're having a one-on-one conversation, with insights into the personal struggle required for greatness. Most of us won't ever have the chance to have that one-on-one conversation, much less a mentorship with someone like Ben. This book is the next best thing.

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Excellent management book for today's culture

ByJignesh Aminon November 30, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

After reading Good Manager / Bad Manager from Horowitz, I realized his teaching style fit right with my learning style. His empathy and humility shine through this book on how he struggled and applied his thinking to his specific scenarios. This was different than others as it was a not a biography or history of his companies, buy personal anecdotes and lessons learned applied to business managment. Great read and will be referencing periodically in my career.

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The best book i have read from someone who has been there done that

Bypbusharizion September 17, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Horowitz covers all the bases from starting up to scaling up; from strategy to execution; from recruiting to firing... it's all in there and more. He steers away from being prescriptive without being fluff. It's a great outline of his experience in taking his company from start up to eventual sale. Worth it's weight in gold.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Excellent book

Byobinniaon December 26, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I loved reading this book. Ben Horowitz tells it honestly and clearly. His comments about leadership, politics and bureaucracy are so apt. In the end, it's the leaders who are responsible for creating the work environment and culture. My only negative is some parts sort of ramble. But it's a small price to pay for the assurance and comfort that this provides to both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A practical, actionable, personal guide to the constant struggle of building a business

ByEliot Peperon November 18, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz is the best business book I've read in a long time. Ben is a legendary operator. He founded, built, and sold Opsware. Then he partnered with Marc Andreessen to cofound one of the most successful venture capital firms in recent history, investing in Airbnb, Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, Pinterest, etc. The book is a practical, actionable, personal guide to the constant struggle of building a business.

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Mandatory reading every couple of years for techpreneurs

ByAsim Ghaffaron December 24, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I believe this is a must book for tech entrepreneurs in addition to Zero to One... many won't value the content if they are just starting their entrepreneurship journey but for someone like me, who read it a decade after my first startup, I really wished that I had read it a lot earlier l. (Too my defence this book was not available then).

My big take away from this is the differentiation between wartime and peacetime CEO..

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Must read for founders, entrepreneurs and leaders @ startups

ByHema Padhuon December 1, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

One of the best books you can read about being an entrepreneur, starting your own business or working for a startup. Ben doesn't sugar coat it and that's the best thing about the book. His startup has been through trials and survived some of the worst crisis. Most startups simply won't make it. He gives thoughtful advice for any CEO, founder or member of a leadership team on how to hire talent, manage culture, navigate crisis with grace and how to inspire people during tough times. If there's only one business book you read this year, make it this one.

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Most recent customer reviews

Better than I expected

More specific valuable guidance - especially on management techniques- than your typical high level motivational business advice book. Worth reading

Published 2 days ago by RoundStone

Start-up'ers handbook

This is a must-read for any starting or thinking about starting a technology start-up. Straightforward and honest advice.

Published 2 days ago by Paul Storm

excellent book for all managers, particularly c-level executives.

Engaging stories and content.
Well structured.
Full of real examples and decision making process surrounding tough decisions, followed by general concepts that can be...Read more

Published 4 days ago by ranjan

This book isn't just good for someone who is already a business owner or ...

This book isn't just good for someone who is already a business owner or CEO but also great for business students who just want to be there. They want the feeling.Read more

Published 5 days ago by Robert Smith

Being a CEO can be learnt

The best management book I read so far. Definitely will read it the second time.

Published 6 days ago by Tang Biao

Brilliant.

Leaves you hungry.

Published 9 days ago by Amazon Customer

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to start a business

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to start a business. Ben, the author, really knows how to describes the struggles of the entrepreneur's journey.Read more

Published 13 days ago by Rachu

Great book. Even though this book is most useful ...

Great book. Even though this book is most useful for active and past CEOs, it has a lot to offer to anyone who has ever been an employee.Read more

Published 14 days ago by RDX

Vows, i would write the eighty percent of the same book

This book becomes very popular because the content is extremely well resonated with the founders. It is so well done that there is no second book needed in this subject.

Published 15 days ago by battalgazi yildirim

A manual for the CEO/Founder of Start-ups

This is an amazing read on Entrepreneurship and startups. It reads like a manual, for CEOs/Founders. The lessons that the author share come from his personal experience.Read more

Published 16 days ago by Kislay

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