Most companies that go through layoffs are never the same. They don't recover because trust is broken. And if you're not honest… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
In boxing, you get hit, it's painful, then you sit on the stool when the adrenaline is gone and you feel that… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
You have to be responsible when you're running an organization, and firing people who are your friends is part of that responsibility. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
As long as people are clear on what they need to do and what's going on, you're very likely to succeed. When… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
When you found a company, you have the original vision, you make all the original decisions, you know every employee, you kind… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
When I was a CEO, the books on management that I read weren't very much help after the first few months on… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Going public today is fraught with peril on many levels. One is earnings guidance. If you miss guidance, the stock price becomes… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
In order to build a great technology company, you have to hire lots of incredibly smart people. It's a total waste to… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
When you look at a company that's already succeeded or is at the very top of its game, it isn't necessarily when… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
I think when companies are struggling, they don't want to talk to the press. The guys who write business books aren't interested… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Some libertarians say, 'Well, if people work harder, they can make more money.' But, you know, my mother is a nurse and… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
As a company gets big, the information that informs decision-making gets massive. Depending upon the prism through which you view the business,… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
The hardest thing about starting a company and running a company is, there's just so many expectations on you, and there are… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
I had a terrible time hiring rich people. It sounds funny, but the problem is when things go wrong they can ask,… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
It helps to have founded and run a company if you're going to help somebody run a company who is a founder. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Many of the people that you lay off will have closer relationships with the people who stay than you do, so treat… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
You can't worry about the mistakes, because you're going to make a lot of them. You've got to be thinking about your… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
If somebody's going on your board, and you're going to be C.E.O., it will help if that person knows how to be… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Nobody knows how to be a CEO. It's something you have to learn. It's a very lonely job. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Do you have a real interest in people who work for you? Most good leaders have that - it's hard to get… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
The key to high-quality communication is trust, and it's hard to trust somebody that you don't know. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
With communication technology in general, there's a kind of certain critical mass of people. Once you get to 15% of the world's… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
You read these management books that say, 'These are the hard things about running a company.' But those aren't really the hard… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
The bad thing about young people starting a company is that sometimes they do it for the wrong reasons or because they… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
I described the CEO job as knowing what to do and getting the company to do what you want. Designing a proper… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
The laws of business physics have been broken in terms of how many customers you can acquire and how fast. No one… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Look - this is the terror of being a founder & CEO. It is all your fault. Every decision, every person you… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
There is no silver bullet. There are always options and the options have consequences. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Groupon looked like a very high valuation, but any investment in a great company at any stage is almost always a good investment. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
By far the most difficult skill I learned as a C.E.O. was the ability to manage my own psychology. Organizational design, process design, metrics,… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“The hard thing is when those “great people” develop a sense of entitlement and start demanding unreasonable things. The hard thing isn’t setting up… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“As painful as it might be, I knew that we had to get into the broader market in order to understand it well enough… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“On my grandfather’s tombstone, you will find his favorite Marx quote: “Life is struggle.” I believe that within that quote lies the most important… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“Bill Campbell: "It's not about the money." Ben Horowitz: "What's it about, Bill?" Bill: "It's about the FUCKING money.” — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
When the value of the company clearly has fallen below what its assets are worth, having a shareholder who says, 'Let's get a better… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
One person is never as stupid as a group of people. That's why they have lynch mobs, not lynch individuals. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“out the right product is the innovator’s job, not the customer’s job.” — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
As companies move to web-based computing they get a lot more servers, which are difficult to manage and control. All kinds of problems can… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Breakthrough ideas usually come from guys who look like they're hallucinating — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
