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The Hard Thing About Hard Things
- Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Categories: Business & Careers, Management & Leadership
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- By arun on 09-12-18
Publisher's Summary
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.
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What listeners say about The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rishabh Surana
- 05-03-20
a one time listen
this is kind of a story about the business life of author and a summary of few other management books.
4 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 28-11-20
WoW
i should have got this book few years ago. it's a eye opener book. Thank you
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 20-10-20
The best book for Entrepreneurs!
The book is extremely realistic and practical and the author talks about a lot of ideas which are relatable as a Founder.
I think it's not a one-time read, but rather, it's a handbook for entrepreneurs where they can refer it again and again as and when they encounter a situation.
Through this book, I have realised that the best books are those that are written by entrepreneurs themselves. Next book - High Output Management (as suggested by Ben Horowitz).
1 person found this helpful
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- Vikash
- 19-07-20
A great book that teaches you how to run a company
A great book that teaches you how to run a company and even when to sell it , a journey of a ceo is depicted here i mean the author journey.
1 person found this helpful
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- Alok Kumar
- 20-02-21
Clearing
Throwing light on hard things are supposed to be hard. Nice explanation why they are hard and one can grow out of that.
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- Anonymous User
- 13-11-20
Strong, opinionated, insightful and practical advice packed into a mini biography
Unlike usual leadership books, this books goes into all the difficult and struggling times a founder has to go through. Through his own life story, Ben talks about the choices he took and the consequences of these choices. This book contains advice on how to build and more importantly evolve an organisation, and how a CEO can influence all of that. Life is struggle. Embrace the struggle.
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- MADHUR MISHRA
- 20-10-20
Lessons of a lifetime
There's so much to learn and the experiences shared are invaluable. One would only dream of such a roller coaster ride as Ben. Though times have changed, the lessons in book are very much applicable today. Thank you Ben for sharing this with everyone.
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- Muneesh Chellani
- 19-10-20
CEO's Handbook
This is an excellent book for Leaders who want to step up into a CEOs role.
Also, a superb guide, for a wannabe Entrepreneur, from someone who has been there, done that. Priceless lessons
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- Shaggy
- 18-10-20
A book to be referred to regularly for all leaders
loved it. Will buy a hard cover too and keep for regular referral. it is to be read before you start on your leadership path and the regularly when you're struggling on your leadership path: true to the learning with which Ben ends the book: Life is struggle!
Gave it 4 star overall only because I think the structure could have been altered a little bit for audio format to make the frameworks/learnings more retainable. But no complaints. I might listen to it again soon.
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- Sid
- 12-10-20
inspiring , motivating and clear guidance
amazing book , have new found respect for CEOs after reading this book . great learning experience .
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- A. Yoshida
- 29-01-18
Book for Entrepreneuers
The book is a combination of an autobiography and entrepreneurial advice. The first three chapters are about the author's start in the business (as if he's a recognizable name in the tech industry). Few people probably even heard of the companies that he co-founded, Loudcloud and Opsware. Also, it was self-indulgent of the author to start each chapter with a quotation from rap music (reciting lyrics from Kanye West as if they were words of wisdom to a businessperson).
When the author finally gets to recounting the struggles of running a company and giving advice on how to avoid the mistakes he made, the book then starts to fulfill its intent of "Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers." The author described the actions he had taken and explained his thought process. He gave the "what", "how", and "why" for his actions. Many of the suggestions are specific to entrepreneurs (like hiring an executive team, how to run a startup company, and when to sell the company). There is some business management advice (like having regular 1-on-1 meetings with direct reports and giving clear, honest feedback), but you'll have to prod through a lot of the entrepreneurial content.
15 people found this helpful
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- Vizzi Kindle
- 27-10-17
This book aint what I thought
aint what i bought
i got sold but what
i wanted aint what i got
Sounds like a description of the hardest thing about hard things and how to deal with the hardest things in your business
But it's not
its some guy telling a lot of stories about his experiences as a ceo from one narrow point of view. Very little fresh perspective.
12 people found this helpful
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- bigdatamark
- 03-09-14
Exciting and insightful view of a "wartime CEO"
Any additional comments?
First of all, I have to warn you that the author, Ben Horowitz, apparently likes gangster rap, and there are quotes at the beginning of chapters and sections that are relevant, yet have foul language and try to be offensive. Ben Horowitz interestingly, uses swear words, but only for great impact.
Second, Kevin Kenerly, the narrator, has a great style. It's hard to explain, but it's like he's speaking directly to you, and only to you. Some people might be annoyed by it, but I thought it was very appropriate for this book.
Third, there was a lot of really interesting and dramatic insight into how Horowitz handled an almost impossible to believe string of disasters by seeking good advice from his mentors, from experts, and by making hard decisions. Although I don't agree with some of the ways he treated people, his methods did get results.
48 people found this helpful
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- Thomas
- 18-03-14
For large company managers, not startups
Horowitz's formula for "building a business" is to get hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capitalists, then take your the company public and get hundreds of millions more dollars. Then buy companies that have products you need. The author has lots of advice about laying off employees, firing executives, and giving bad news to investors. There's a good chapter about the importance of training your employees.
This book is not for startups. "The Lean Startup," by Eric Ries, is a better book for entrepreneurs. Horowitz's book is for executives managing large companies.
221 people found this helpful
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- Scott Wozniak
- 03-03-15
Strong, insightful, and a bit vulgar
Ben Horowitz has been there and done that--that being starting a tech firm and leading it through chaos and surprise and heartbreak to success. He isn't sharing leadership theory, he's sharing his life lessons.
As such, he offers specific examples and actual numbers for each of his principles. And his principles are insightful and practical. A few are powerful, like the idea of management debt: you can delay making a hard decision but you incur "debt". The problem didn't go away, you will have to pay it later--with interest. So pay now and reduce the cost. Also, don't hire a stereotypical executive, hire the one that fits the exact situation of your company. For example, there's a big difference between running a large company and building a large company. The first is more about managing lots of pressure--reacting well. The second is about creating growth through aggressive action--without anyone pressuring you to do it.
I give 4 rather than 5 stars to this strong leadership book because of the large amount of foul language. Not only is there a section where he decided as CEO to allow a tech culture norm of expletives (that was strategic at least), but he cusses every couple of pages. I guess he's being authentic but it is distracting.
20 people found this helpful
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- m.a.
- 16-06-14
Great book - surprised by all the vitriol
Any additional comments?
Those who focus their review on the fact that there's hip hop references or the fact that the author is so raw in his language are clearly missing the f*cking point (since the book is full of expletives). This book explained the agony and euphoria I saw on many of my own CEOs, going from tiny companies to being acquired for millions of dollars. Of course, a good counter part to this book is Lean Start Up by Eric Ries (and that book is dry, boring, methodical, lean on interest yet good since it's the strategy to being a lean, agile start up). Horowitz doesn't mince his words and speaks sincerely about the realities of tech start ups. As Mitch Joel says so eloquently in CTRL-ALT-DELETE - the business world is in a state of purgatory. I'll add that technology is the extreme game of survival of the fittest. A must read for anyone working in tech. And leave your pearls at home. Business is cutthroat, it won't say please and thank you.
23 people found this helpful
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- Hal
- 10-09-16
Hard truths no fluff, a gut check for founding CEO
If you need to know how paranoid you needed to be before considering being the CEO of a startup, then this is a must read. Not too long, great insight into the dread, critical, life altering decisions that you must make as a forms prime leader.
3 people found this helpful
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- gm050
- 18-08-15
Sound advice, amateur writing and narration
The narrator enunciates so aggressively and with such over-animation it made me flinch. And the excessive use of rap lyrics and other extensive references to pop culture gave the book and story a very amateurish feel. The excessive use of the pronoun "she" when referring to hypothetical CEOs also presented an odd juxtaposition with the fact that every single reference to living CEOs was to male ones (Jobs, Bezos, Schmidt, Campbell, Gates...)
However, when the actual advice of the book came out (not until the last half or maybe even quarter) it was clear, concise and to the point. Definitely got me thinking. Wish the whole book had been as such.
26 people found this helpful
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- Jesse Ashton
- 08-07-15
Hard to listen to
The narrator is awful
There are several examples given in the book where the author gives numbered examples, "one...(long pause, explanation)......two ..."
I listened to on 2X speed and it was very dry.
14 people found this helpful
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- L
- 17-08-15
Once you learn to deal with Horowitz narcissism, it finally gets to the meat
The voice was miserable. It might have been a low soothing voice, ideal for radio, but the person didn't keep it interesting in inflection. Like a lazy professor a couple years after being tenured.
Horowitz takes a while to get to the real information of his book. When he does get there it great. Before that it is too slow.
17 people found this helpful
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- Simon
- 01-11-16
best management book I've ever read
great book with real world advice and anecdotes from someone who has lived through the hard stuff. Much better than the over simplicity of most management texts. a must read for all managers our business owners.
2 people found this helpful
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- d024912
- 04-02-16
Not for me! I've listened to a couple of chapters
Is there anything you would change about this book?
Better information in the review and I probably wouldn't buy this one. There's nothing essentially wrong with this book. But the business that I am planning to start doesn't match the authors information and experience and this isn't the right book for me.
Would you recommend The Hard Thing About Hard Things to your friends? Why or why not?
If there are lessons they might be later in the book. I just found the early chapters slow going and I'm not learning much. Ben Horowitz comes across hard working and funny and he manages to work for top silicon valley companies in the 90s and I've just reached the bit when he has founded an cloud company with three others but I felt that this isn't going to help me on my journey. I will not be working for top software companies but if you are going to set up a software firm than this might be the book for you.
What aspect of Kevin Kenerly’s performance might you have changed?
Maybe Kevin's voice isn't the right match for the book content. Particularly when he reads to words from the rap songs.
Did The Hard Thing About Hard Things inspire you to do anything?
Not really.
2 people found this helpful
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- Julia Bonner
- 22-08-19
Disappointing
I found this book to be low on substance. It is well padded with few practical take aways. Egotistical. I had hoped for much from this book.
1 person found this helpful
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- Omar
- 12-06-17
Feels like they didn't edited the book for audio
The book is at best average.
There are some good tipps, but it's more like a biography.
Also the narrator are literally reading conversation protocols, or emails. (including header, cc,...)
Maybe it's a good read as a book, but not the best buy as an audio book.
3 people found this helpful
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- FahimS
- 16-11-16
Must-read
One of the best business books I've ever read. It talks about taboos, the struggle that you rarely hear or read in biographies.
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- kev
- 04-10-16
Kevin made Ben's story come alive
Ben has a wealth of honest real life sharings of struggles and strategies that make sense for any senior role. I see the CEO role as any senior leader that is accountable for P&L as well as people.
1 person found this helpful
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- Mark
- 20-07-15
Pretty dull read, almost obnoxious self-promotion
Would you try another book written by Ben Horowitz or narrated by Kevin Kenerly?
Was interesting and definitely written differently from most of these kinda books (lots of swearing, hip-hop references, unambiguous opinions and sometimes almost obnoxious self-promotion) which gave it some character. A few interesting lessons in there particularly on the difficulties of moving from Founder - CEO but on the whole, fairly dull. I'd give it 2 stars
What was most disappointing about Ben Horowitz’s story?
It was a story more than a tool
Would you be willing to try another one of Kevin Kenerly’s performances?
Maybe
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Hard Thing About Hard Things?
Cut it at least in half
Any additional comments?
nope
3 people found this helpful
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- "hugh2756"
- 31-12-20
If you run a company; read this book
I wish I’d had this book over the last ten years of running a £100m company. So many issues would have been made clearer. Not easier, just clearer.
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- ubaranzorlu
- 17-12-20
By far the best book I've read
Ben tells a lot about how to survive as a wartime CEO. It is like a tutorial on how to tackle the hardest situations in business. An art piece!
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- Pete B
- 17-11-20
A must read for Founder CEOs
Ben Horowitz spells out his key lessens from being a CEO of startups, in this engaging book.
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- Stew Glynn
- 28-11-17
The truth about building a business
Amazing story of the trials and tribulations of growing a company rapidly! Great stories shared by Ben that highlight the intensity, loneliness and challenges of entrepreneurship. Thanks Ben Horowitz
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- Anonymous User
- 14-07-19
a very high 3 stars
really enjoyed it but struggled to extract lessons that could be applied to my own life.
really enjoyed that this was a story with lessons baked in rather than the other way round.
1 person found this helpful
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- Scott
- 06-01-21
The truth is not always pretty
A highly valuable read recapping personal experience and sharing real world insights that when applied correctly will be very helpful.
Highly recommended for those starting out and those that have been in the trenches and can relate.
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- John
- 28-10-20
practical and no BS
great learning experience from someone who has actually been there and done it. practical and relevant.
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- Mick
- 15-09-20
Five stars
I found this book very informative and interesting. Many of the strategies and ideas can be implemented in my personal and professional relationships. Horowitz reflection on his actions and their effect during his professional life have some strong, motivational messages for those in pursuit of a positive, professional career.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-09-20
Excellent delivery
Great view on the world, not everything is rosy. Good strategies on dealing with ambiguity and adversity
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- Rolls
- 30-07-20
Too much ipo/raising talk not enough business/tech
Too much ipo/raising talk not enough business/tech talk.
Presenter is frustrating to listen to.
Entertaining and some good stories but overall not what I expected and I couldn't finish more than half the book.
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- Anonymous User
- 05-03-20
Great book!
This was a fantastic look inside the ropes to running a big business, refreshingly honest and without any BS, one of the best business books I have had the pleasure of reading!
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- Adam
- 13-01-20
Excellent resource
I really liked this book. It helped me see that being a CEO is being more like a drill sergeant than my employees best friend.
Thanks Ben!
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- Carl F Watson
- 19-12-19
80’s porn voice intolerable (x1.5 speed makes it bearable)
Having listened to the author speak on the Tim Ferris podcast, I was drawn to this audio book. The narration however isn’t by the expert/author himself but an 80’s porn style voice over toss-pot!
Determined to get through it, I had to listen to it at 1.5 times the speed.
I have no gripes with the content itself as it’s insightful and relevant to those drawn to the subject matter.
Why the hip hop references though? Proceed with caution if u want to endure this audio book.