I’ve read hundreds of books on leadership, strategy, innovation and business and many of them offer recipes for creating, building and scaling successful companies.
I have found few books, however, that describe the reality of being a CEO better than “The Hard Thing About Hard Things,” the new book by Ben Horowitz, co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz.As the title of his book suggests, being a CEO is hard.
Over the past two decades, I’ve had the privilege to meet several thousand CEOs who lead companies ranging from early-stage ventures to global public companies. Every single one has had to deal with numerous disappointments, setbacks and near-death experiences.
Every problem in every company, however, can be attributed in some way to the CEO. The CEO sets the strategy, hires the executive team (or fails to fire them when necessary) and has the capability of changing most any process, procedure or policy.
Yet there is no training program that can truly prepare someone to be a CEO. Every CEO learns to be a CEO by being a CEO.
Horowitz, who is the former CEO of LoudCloud and OpsWare, says the most difficult skill he had to develop “was the ability to manage my own psychology.”
Horowitz believes that when faced with extreme situations, CEOs must move “aggressively and decisively without feeling emotionally culpable.”
During these stressful times, Horowitz found CEOs often make one of two mistakes:
■ They take things too personally, in which case they either take their stress out on everyone around them, or keep it all inside and make themselves sick.
■ They don’t take things personally enough, rationalizing that the problems aren’t all that serious and nothing gets fixed.
The role of CEO becomes very lonely during tough times, but they must recognize that there is no one else that can make the decision for them.
There are, however, ways to get through it.
Make some friends
Talking to other leaders who have been through similar challenges may not give you the exact answer you’re looking for, but it can uncover many fresh approaches to the issue as well as the confidence to help you get through almost anything.
Get it on paper
The process of writing down your solution to a challenge helps to clarify your thoughts and make better decisions.
Focus on the road, not the wall
Like the best race car drivers, CEOs must concentrate on the road ahead. Focusing too much on current problems can cause them to drive their companies “into the wall.”
Horowitz’s new book is an excellent read for CEOs who want to understand how to deal with a wide range of difficult challenges that face every CEO.
In addition to dealing with “bet the company” issues, he also discusses many other things he learned “on the job” such as how to hire and fire key executives, deal with politics and encourage innovation while also creating a culture of accountability.
It’s not easy to be a CEO, but by sharing our experiences — both successes and failures — we all can become better leaders. ●
