Ben Horowitz in his book: Hard Things about Hard Things, talks about smart employees who also happen to be responsible for breaking company culture. The Heretic These are the employees who find faults to take the case of management or co-workers. They can go to an extent claiming the company is run by morons and …
Author Archives: Atul
decision
In the book what you do is who you are, Ben Horowitz talks about how a team takes a decision. He talks about 3 primary modes. My way or the highway: As a CEO I know what is right and I will make the decision. Everyone has a say: Before going out with a feature …
messed up
Ben Horowitz in his book: “What you do is who you are” talks about the sign of organizations messed up culture. These are the 3 signs according to Ben: Wrong people are quitting too often. You are failing at your top priorities. An employee does something that truly shocks you. I found it worth sharing.
checklist
In the book “What you do is who you” are Ben Horowitz has a shared cultural checklist for founders building companies. Cultural Design: Culture should be the same who you are in real life or professional. Cultural Orientation: Monkey see, monkey do. Ensure the newer employees are mentored well to join your bandwagon. Shocking Rules. …
culture
Ben Horowitz in his book “What you do who you are” about Slack’s culture. Smart Humble Hardworking Collaborative Slack’s founder says every Slack employee should have these virtues. It got me thinking about how most startups are paying 100X salary and taking bullshit from A performers. The toxic culture at many big billion companies is …
C for sales
While reading “What you do is who you are”, the author shares an incident. He talks about the sales philosophy of Mark Cranny at his Loudcloud days. Cranny also talks about the four C’s. Competence: your salesperson should know in and out of the product. Confidence: your salesperson should pitch with it. Courage: your salesperson …
customer success
Growth comes with too many things to handle. If you are catering customers where they are dependent on you for everyday chores, customer success should be paramount. In the book, category creation the author talks about the Customer Success Team. A team dedicated to delighting end-users. As a leader of your organization, it becomes super …
consumption
We consume information, news, content in many ways. As per the author of category creation, these are the common modes. Visual: consists of images, pictures. Musical: sound and music. Verbal: words, speech, and writings. Physical: body, hands, and sense of touch. Logical: requires cognitive capabilities Social: where actions are taken in collaboration Solitary: where actions …
Product
In the book company of one, the author talks about the pillars of a successful product. Security Scalability Reliability Performance Integration Customization I found it worth sharing. As a product developer, these principles should be part of your subconscious brain. Your team should swear by it.
company of one
The book is the author’s journey where he talks about running a company on his terms: a small team, a focussed market, and limited customers. Like any other book on the organizational building, it talks about the culture, mission, and health of employees. I agree with most of what the author mentions. He cites the …