The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Points clés

• There is no recipe for the hard parts of running a company; there is only judgement under pressure
• In the struggle, tell your people the truth early, because hidden problems grow in silence
• Take care of the people, the products and the profits, in that order
• Hire for strength in the one thing you need now, not for absence of weakness
• Peacetime and wartime leaders play by different rules, and most founders must learn both

À l'intérieur de ce bit

1. Les livres de management esquivent le plus dur

   Most business books tell you how to set goals and inspire people. Ben Horowitz, who ran the software company Loudcloud through the dot com crash, laying off staff, nearly going bankrupt, and finally selling the business for a large sum, writes about the part those books skip: what to do when you have to fire a friend, when the product is late and the money runs out in 6 weeks, when everyone is looking at you and you have no idea.

2. L'épreuve

   Horowitz gives a name to the private misery of leading something that is failing: the struggle. It is when you cannot sleep, when you doubt whether you should be doing this at all, when the story you told investors feels like a lie.

3. Licenciements, rétrogradations et franchise

   The book gets very specific about the ugliest jobs. When you must lay people off, do it once, do it quickly, and make sure the reason given is the company's failure, not the individuals' performance, because that is the truth and the survivors are listening.

4. Recruter les forces, former pour grandir

   Horowitz is sceptical of hiring by checklist. He suggests you first decide what the job actually needs right now, ideally by doing it yourself for a while, and then hire the person who is exceptional at that one thing, even if they carry obvious weaknesses.

5. Diriger en temps de paix et de guerre

   One of the book's most useful frames is the difference between peacetime and wartime. In peacetime the company is winning, the market is growing, and the leader's job is to expand opportunity, encourage creativity and protect culture.

6. Passez à l'action

   This week, write down the single hardest problem in your team or company, the one you have been carrying alone, and tell the people who can help you solve it. Decide honestly whether you are in peacetime or wartime, and choose one behaviour to change to fit.