▌ People always ask me, what is the secret to being a successful CEO? "Unfortunately, there is no secret at all. If there is such a technique, it is to look at their ability to concentrate and choose the best route when there is no way out.
Ben Horowitz is a veteran entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and one of the "Top 50 Angel Investors in Silicon Valley".
In 16 years, he co-founded Loudcloud with Mark Anderson, the father of Netscape, and later transformed into Opsware, and led the company back to life several times in the harsh environment of the Internet bubble, and finally successfully sold the company to HP for $0 million.
Many years later, he summed up his entrepreneurial time in "Entrepreneurship is Difficult" with this sentence:
"In the more than 8 years of being CEO, only 0 days were good, and the remaining 0 years were almost all difficult."
Most startup books are all about how to do the right thing and not mess things up, and Ben Horowitz will tell you:What do you do when things are already messed up.
In this sincere and pragmatic book, we have picked up 22 of them for you that you will definitely care about in the hope that you will gain something.
1. What should you do when you are in trouble?
你必須堅信，任何問題都有一個解決辦法。而你的任務就是找出解決辦法，無論這一概率是十分之九，還是千分之一，你的任務始終不變。
People always ask me, what is the secret to being a successful CEO? "Unfortunately, there is no secret at all. If there is such a technique, it is to look at their ability to concentrate and choose the best route when there is no way out.
Most management books focus on how to do things right and don't mess things up.
But my experience is how to deeply understand what you have to do when you mess things up.
2. What to do in the face of the struggle in entrepreneurship
All great entrepreneurs go through struggles, and they struggle, and everybody struggles.
A few tips:
first Don't take all the blame away : When you can't share all the burdens, you have to share some of them.
second This is not checkers, but chess. There is no endless road, and there is always a move to take.
third As long as you keep going, there will be a turnaround: in the tech competition, tomorrow and today will look completely different.If you can make it to tomorrow, you may find that a solution that seems impossible today will be on the horizon.
fourth Don't be too yourself: it's probably all your fault that your company is in trouble, because you hired the people, you made the decisions, and you know the risks of the task when you accept it.Everyone makes mistakes, and every CEO makes countless mistakes, and it doesn't help to evaluate yourself properly and be harsh.
fifth Remember, this is the way to distinguish a man from a boy: if you want to make a career, this is the challenge. If you don't want to, then you shouldn't start a company at all.
3. Where do the lies of the losers come from
When companies repeatedly fail in major competitions, managers and employees struggle to concoct creative narratives to help them escape the obvious.
People, especially those who create things, are only willing to hear the good news.
They are not deceiving others, they are deceiving themselves.
4. A clever way or a stupid way
In business, there is perhaps nothing more terrifying than facing an existential threat, and many companies or people in a business will do whatever it takes to avoid such a threat.
They will look for all alternatives, all the outlets, all the interfaces, just to survive in a competition, and run away when they should be fighting heroically.
It's a time like this when you ask yourself, "If our company can't win, do we still need to exist?" ”
5. Why tell the truth
First, trust. Without trust, communication is broken. In all human interactions, the amount of communication is inversely proportional to the level of trust.The ability of a CEO to be trusted over a period of time is often the biggest difference between a well-managed company and a company that is chaotic.
Second, the more people involved in solving the problem, the better 。 A person, no matter how brilliant, cannot solve a problem that he does not understand.
Third, a healthy corporate culture encourages employees to go public with bad news. This information may be critical to the health of the company.
6. The difference between a good company and a bad company
Good Company:
1. Employees can concentrate on their work, believing that as long as they do a good job, the company and they will benefit, and then there will be real happiness in working in such a company.
2. As soon as everyone opens their eyes in the morning, they know that the work they are doing is efficient and useful, and it will change the company and themselves.
Bad Company:
1. People will spend a lot of time defending the company's interests, preventing open and secret fights, and improving imperfect work processes.
2. They don't know what their responsibilities are, so it's impossible to know if they're getting the job done.
3. Even if they take a long time to complete the work, they have no idea what it means for the company or their own careers.
4. When they finally have the courage to tell managers how bad their situation is, those managers will first deny the existence of the problem, then defend the status quo, and then put the problem aside.
7. How to terminate an employee
The first step is to keep your head clear : The past can weigh you down without respite, and that's what you have to deal with.
The second step is to make a decision immediately : Once a decision is made to lay off employees, it must be implemented as soon as possible. If the news leaks, it will be complicated and troublesome.
The third step is to have a clear understanding of the reasons for layoffs If the reason for the company's layoffs is poor performance, the message to the company and the dismissed personnel should not be "layoffs are very necessary, we need to take this opportunity to evaluate everyone's work performance", but "the company is not doing well, and in order to continue to develop, we have to reluctantly lay off some excellent employees".
Admitting defeat may not seem like a big deal, but trust me, it's actually pretty remarkable.
Step 4: Train managers : Train managers and follow a golden rule: "Your own employees should be fired themselves, and they can't be blamed on HR or a more demanding colleague." ”
Step 5: Address the entire company : Respect, and grasp the scale, after all, the company still has to move forward.
Step 6: Be sure to let everyone see you, and you must be present in the company.
8. How to lay off executives
Step 1: Analyze the root cause
While you can fire an executive for poor performance, incompetence, or laziness, it's more important to figure out why you're hiring the wrong person for the company.
Step 2: Inform the Board of Directors
Get their support and understanding; Obtain their input and get them to approve the severance compensation differentiation scheme; Protect the reputation of fired executives."You can't keep his job, but you can definitely keep his dignity."
Step 3: Prepare for the interview
The reasons should be clear, the words should be decisive, and the separation plan for dismissal compensation should be determined.
Step 4: Prepare to announce the news to the company : Be sure to do it in a positive way, and don't give the impression of "kicking the executive out of the company". Is that the message that the best employee in the company may be the best friend of the high-ranking official, and that degrading him will only make people worry that they will end up in the same fate as him?
9. Manage people, products, and profits in turn
Work hard with the toughest buddies and make money with the smartest buddies.
Among people, products and profits, managing people well is the most difficult, and if you don't manage people well, the other two are impossible to talk about.Managing people well means that the company should provide a good working environment.
But in fact, most workplaces are far from good. When organizations grow, important work can be overlooked, the hardest workers can be overshadowed by the best politicians, and the constraints of scope can stifle creativity and make it no fun.
10. Why do startups need to train their personnel?
People who work at McDonald's receive on-the-job training, but people who work in more complex jobs don't. It doesn't make sense.
productivity ：培訓是管理者可以開展的最有效的活動之一，考慮一下你是否有可能為自己所在部門的員工舉辦4場總共12小時的培訓講座，假如培訓班有10名成員，第二年，這10名成員為公司工作的時間總計會達到1.2萬個小時，如果你的配需令這些員工的業績提高1%，那麼 The 200 hours you spend on training equate to 0 hours of work for the company.
performance management : When training employees, managers should clearly state their job expectations.
Product quality : Without proper training for engineers to rush through tasks, there will be no quality product architecture.
Employee retention : I've found that there are two main reasons why people quit their jobs
First, they hate their managers. Lack of mentoring, uncertain career prospects, and often negative feedback are factors that can often cause employees to feel uneasy.
Second, they don't learn: Companies don't invest resources to help employees learn new skills.
A good training program solves both of these problems directly.
11. Why it is difficult for managers of large companies to do their jobs in small companies
When you hire a large company executive, you face two dangerous mismatches:
First, the rhythm does not match. Such supervisors have become accustomed to being in a state of waiting for long periods of time.
Second, there is a mismatch in skills. The skills required to manage a large company are very different from those required to create a new one.
12. In the absence of experience in recruitment
How to find great talent
The first step is to know what you want.
The best way to find out what kind of talent you want is to experience it for yourself. The introduction of experts would also be very beneficial. Finally, you need to be clear about what you expect from the people who join the company.
The second step is to take control of the recruitment process
Write down the abilities you want, and the shortcomings you are willing to endure; Set up questions and answers to test recruitment criteria, form interview panels, and conduct secret and public investigations.
The third step is to make a decision individually. Making decisions is a lonely task, but someone has to do it.
13. How to minimize office politics
First, when selecting employees, measure how ambitious they are.
Second, establish strict processes to guard against potential office politics, and carefully enforce performance reviews and performance rewards, organizational setup and division of authority, employee promotions, and so on.
14. Should you recruit senior people?
Hiring people with relevant entrepreneurial experience can accelerate the process of success. If used correctly, you have the potential to break records, and if you use it incorrectly, you will fail in the game.
When senior people join:
First, they are required to conform to the company's corporate culture and not easily give in because of their old qualifications.
Second, set clear and high-standard job requirements, and don't just settle for the job because you hire them to do what you're not good at.
Third, they must not only complete tasks, but also be good at working with peoplecooperateto be part of the team.
15. Should you poach people from a good friend's company?
First of all, you may lose friends.
Secondly, even if you want to go to a friend's company to recruit people, you must recruit top talent, otherwise you will just add some mediocre people.
16. Why bring a puppy to work or in
Doing yoga at work is not considered corporate culture
Corporate culture is a way of working that allows a business to:
Make your company unique.
Ensure that important production standards such as "customer satisfaction" or "product excellence" are adhered to.
Help you pick the ones who will help you achieve your goals.
And taking a puppy to work or doing yoga is enough to attract people's attention, butIt didn't establish a core set of values to drive the company's growth and make the company's position in the industry rock-solid.It may be a side meal, but it has nothing to do with the corporate culture.
17. The most difficult CEO winning skill to master
I think the hardest thing for a CEO to do is to control his own heart.
如果按照百分制來衡量CEO們的優劣，那麼平均分只有22分。這個成績對於學業史輝煌的人來說絕對是極大的心理挑戰。
I thought I was strong enough on the inside, but I was wrong, I was actually vulnerable.
But fundamentally, psychological issues are a personal war that every manager can't avoid.
My advice is:
Make more friends. From a psychological point of view, it can be of great benefit to you to talk to people who have had similar experiences.
Write your thoughts out. The process of writing will make your thoughts clearer.
Keep an eye on the road, don't look at the wall. What you need to keep an eye on is your target, not what you want to dodge.
18. There is only a thin line between cowardice and bravery
Every time you make a difficult and right decision, your courage will increase by one point.
19. What should the CEO of good times/the CEO of wartime do?
Different management methods should be adopted in different periods. In good times, leaders must maximize existing opportunities, so their management strategy is focused on driving innovation and contribution across the board.
On the contrary, when the company is in adversity, the leader will do his best to hit the target, and the ability to overcome the adversity depends entirely on the leader's ability to effectively accomplish the mission.
Interestingly, most management books talk about how to be a good CEO in good times and rarely talk about management strategies in bad times.
20. The traits of a good leader
I think leadership qualities are those factors that can measure the basic qualities of a leader:How many people are willing to follow him, who are willing to follow him, and what level of people who follow him.
So what are some of the traits that will attract people to follow this leader? I think there are three main points:
Ability to sketch blueprints.
and let them follow your abilities.
Ability to realize ideals and ambitions.
These three traits are essential for every CEO, and they are mutually reinforcing.
If people trust you, they will follow you, even if you are clumsy with words.
If you are capable, they will trust you and listen to you.
If you can sketch out a good picture, people will be patient and give you more leeway when it comes to their interests.
21. The type of CEO, are you "one" or "two"
In my opinion, there are two core skills necessary to manage a company:
First, have a clear goal and know what you need to do.
Second, it can drive the whole company to achieve this goal.
I call the CEOs who are more willing to set goals for the company "one", and those CEOs who prefer to promote the development of the company in practice as "two", although there are both "one" and "two" in the CEO, as long as there is self-control, as long as there is hard work, those inherent weaknesses can be compensated.
If a CEO ignores the shortcomings in his management skills, he will not be able to go on in the long run.
The "One" will cause chaos in the company, and the "Two" will delay the fighter.
22. Should you sell your company?
It is necessary to be emotionally and intellectually prepared.
Intellectually, when analyzing the question of whether or not to transfer a company, it is best to ask yourself:
First, am I getting a head start in a large market?
Second, am I sure I will be the top seed in this market?
Emotions can lead to a split personality dilemma, "how can you transfer your dreams" and "isn't business just about making money" two voices will hover in your head, the only solution is to put a silencer on both voices, the essentials are as follows:
Pay the CEO: Most VCs prefer bosses who invest their entire wealth in the company, so they believe that the CEO should be paid a very low salary. However, in reality, it is more reasonable to pay the CEO a salary, which can ensure that the "stay or transfer" is not directly affected by the CEO's personal financial situation.
Have a clear idea and a clear attitude towards the company's prospects. If the company has a head start in a large market and is likely to be at the top of its industry, let the company continue to operate independently. If not, you might as well transfer it. This principle takes into account the interests of both investors and employees.