by Ben Horowitz
change
and breaking your own rules, 201–6
conflicts and, 206–9
in culture, 5, 12–15, 35, 55, 121–22, 123–26, 135–36, 137–38, 179, 209–11, 246
and culture as changing people, 128–31
and messed up culture, 209–11
object lessons and, 211–16
and power of culture, 126
of your culture, 5, 233
character
and race/color, 28–29
See also specific person
checklist, your culture, 244–46
Chen, Frank, 203–4
children
of Genghis Khan, 149, 155
and Genghis Khan culture, 154, 172, 173
China: and Mongol empire, 154
Cisco, 104
Civil War, 236–38
Clinton, Hillary
and Louverture techniques, 16, 71–76
Trump and, 92
cloud services, 59–63 See also specific company
code
living the, 131–32
manipulating the, 133–35
weaponizing the, 133–35
Coleman, Ken, 177
collaboration
definition of, 135
and designing your culture, 190–91, 192
and Senghor culture, 135
Collison, Patrick, 190, 243
color. See race/color
Comey, James, 74
Commentaries (Caesar), 23–24, 34
commitment, 119, 244
communication
and dealing with culture breakers, 219
decision making and, 227–28
focus of, 242
trust and, 32, 136
See also feedback
compensation
and employee rewards, 210
executive, 206–9
competence: and four C’s, 62
competition
decision making and, 230
and designing your culture, 194
and Louverture techniques, 79, 80–85
and making ethics explicit, 79, 80–85
trust and, 238
complaints: and messed up cultures, 209–11
confidence: and four C’s, 62
conflicts
and board of directors, 206–9
and decision making, 230, 232
conformity: and creating a culture, 15
Confucius, 97
constant contact: and changing culture, 125–26, 137–38
Conte, Dave, 78
contrarian thinking, 19–22
control: empowerment versus, 227–32
conviction: and four C’s, 62–63
Cook, Tim, 231
Costolo, Dick, 184–85
Coughlin, Tom, 49–50
courage, 62, 95
Cousin, Terry, 49–50
Cranney, Mark, 60–66, 193–94
Creative Artists Agency, 58–59
credibility: and dealing with culture breakers, 217
crisis situations
and Senghor culture, 137–38
as threat to company culture, 93–94
criticism: and dealing with culture breakers, 220–21
Cruise Automation, 11
culture
as aspirational, 179–80
“best,” 15
breakdown in, 209–11, 224–25
change/evolution of, 5, 12–15, 35, 55, 121–22, 123–26, 135–36, 137–38, 179, 209–11, 246
as changing people, 128–31
characteristics/definition of, 1, 3, 17, 91, 127
conflicts within, 16
creating/building a, 15–18, 127
critics of, 17
default, 128
dilemmas about, 101–3
as dysfunctional, 17
effects of, 12–15
first impressions of, 129–31
flaws/bugs in, 82–85, 87
and history, 12–15
honoring, 117
hybrid, 22, 34–35, 152–55
identification of, 4, 129–31
importance of, 1, 18
as infectious, 130–31
inspiration from other, 180
as legacy, 17
and making it last, 100–103
messed up, 209–11
and mission, 2–3, 5, 55
models of, 13–15
as perfect, 180, 246
power of, 126
questions about, 2–3, 13–14
shaping of, 59
stories as defining, 103–6
as strong force, 5–12
unintended consequences of, 118–22
uniqueness of, 197
as universal, 132–33
universal element of strong, 194–96
and what makes it work, 12–15
and what you do and who you are, 18
“wolf,” 85–86
See also your culture; specific person, model, business, or topic
culture breakers: dealing with, 216–23
Curry, Steph, 191
customers
and bad news, 241
and breakdown of cultural principles, 200–201
messed up cultures and, 210
obsession of, 200–201
satisfaction of, 210
CyberScoop, 72–73
data storage, 9–10
Databricks, 243
death: and samurai culture, 91–95, 106
decisions
accuracy of, 225–27
and communication, 227–28
and conflicts, 230, 232
counterintuitive, 35–36
and cultural priorities, 35–36
culture for making, 223–32
disagreements about, 224–25
employees role in making, 227–32
and Louverture tactics, 35–36, 67–71
“make or break,” 226–27
peacetime or wartime, 229–32
and perfection, 232
and power, 223–24, 227–32
and priorities, 67–71, 246
rules for, 225, 231
speed for making, 225–27
styles for, 223–24
and trust, 227
undermining of, 224–25
wrong, 225–26
and your culture, 246
Dej Loaf, 107
Delavan, Charles, 73
Dell computer, 52
Dell, Michael, 45
designing your culture
and applying who you are, 184–85
and being yourself, 180–83
and employee specifications, 189–94
and identifying your culture, 179–80
and personality flaws, 183–84
strategy for, 185–86
and subcultures, 187–89
virtues and, 186, 189–90, 196–99
and what you do, 194–96
Dessalines, Jean-Jacques, 26, 41–42, 43
/dev/color, 177
Didi Chuxing, 81
differences. See diversity/differences
disagree and commit rule, 225
dive deep: as Amazon value, 52–53
diversity/differences
and creating a culture, 15
and dealing with culture breakers, 216–23
and inclusion, 172–78
See also inclusion
Do the right thing
dilemmas about, 101–3
and Louverture techniques, 88–8
meaning of, 88–89
and prison culture, 115
and samurai culture, 101–3
why, 101–3
Dominican Republic, 27
dress code
and building culture, 128
Louverture tactics and, 33–34, 56–59
Drucker, Peter, 185–86
drugs: and prison culture, 119
Drummond, David, 81–82, 232
DVDs, 69–70
economy/economics
and Haitian Revolution, 35–36,
42
personal computer, 46
and structure of PC industry, 47
edge cases: and your culture, 200–211
efficiency: and decisions, 223, 224
egalitarianism, 66, 157–67
elections of 2016, U.S., 71–76
emails, Clinton, 71–76
Emmons, Carlos, 49–50
empathy: and Senghor culture, 134–35
employees
and bad news, 234–42
as Bar Raisers, 192–93
and breaking your own rules, 202–6
as caring, 194–96
and caste system, 167–72
and decision making, 227–32
firing of, 197–98, 211, 215, 216
hiring/selection of, 172–78, 189–94, 230
honesty with, 234, 235–36
and identifying existing culture, 129–30
layoffs of, 234, 235–36
loyalty of, 242–44
and making ethics explicit, 79–80
and messed up cultures, 210–11
new, 129–30, 173–74
orientation/training of, 130, 231, 244–45
performance reviews for, 131–32
promotions for, 202–6
as quitting, 210
reprimanding, 215–16
rewards for, 210
and Senghor culture, 127–28, 129–30
as shocking, 210–11
as testing virtues, 197–99
types of bad, 216–23
unions for, 169–70, 171
and your culture, 234–45
See also job descriptions; specific person or company
empowerment/power
and bad news, 239, 240
and changing who you are, 126
control versus, 227–32
culture of, 8
and dealing with culture breakers, 217
decentralization of, 155
decisions and, 223–24, 227–32
and Genghis Khan culture, 155
and identifying existing culture, 130
responsibility and, 116
Endres, Lea, 137–38
Enron, 14
entrepreneurs
and breaking your own rules, 202, 203
and samurai culture, 98–100
ethics
as complex, 89
dilemmas about, 101–3
as explicit, 38–41, 78–89
Genghis Khan culture and, 151
as hard choices, 89
and Louverture tactics, 38–41, 78–89
and making culture last, 101–3
power of, 40
samurai culture and, 101–3
Senghor culture and, 133
and values, 79–85, 89
“why” and, 87, 89
and winning, 87
and your culture, 245
everyone has a say style, 223, 224
everyone has imput, then I decide style, 223, 224
example: leading by, 58–59
executives. See CEOs; leadership; specific person
expectations: and your culture, 242
Facebook, 54–55, 89, 109, 186, 232
failure, 10, 12, 18, 42–43
Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation, 8, 9
Fairchild Semiconductor, 8–9
Fairchild, Sherman, 8
family/kinship: and Genghis Khan culture, 142, 153
Farrakhan, Louis, 122
FedEx, 63–64
feedback
and dealing with culture breakers, 221, 222
and designing your culture, 185
inclusion and, 177
performance reviews as, 131–32
and samurai culture, 99
and Senghor culture, 131–32, 134–35
written, 185
Five Percenters (prison gang), 113
Flakes (culture breakers), 217–18
flaws/bugs
in culture, 82–85, 87
in yourself, 183–84
“founder friendly” concept, 100
four C’s, 62–63
Fowler, Susan, 82–83
France
and Haitian Revolution, 21, 26, 27, 28, 35–36, 41–42, 44, 66, 76
and Louverture tactics, 34, 66, 76
Revolution in, 25, 28, 42
U.S. relations with, 29–30
fraud, 215
Fred (entrepreneur): and board of director conflicts, 206–9
Frontier Communications, 16, 167–72
frugality, 4, 5, 52, 104, 186
fry curve, 161
Future (rapper), 233
gender. See women
General Electric, 181, 229
General Microelectronics, 9
General Motors, 11, 56–58, 225
Genghis Khan
appearance of, 140–41
and being yourself, 186
childhood/youth of, 140–43
children of, 149, 155
as conqueror, 145–46
as culture model, 13, 15, 16
death of, 146, 154
effectiveness of, 139
family of, 140, 141–42
inclusion culture of, 139–40, 146–48, 166, 172–73, 186
and meritocracy, 13, 146–47, 148–50
principles/tactics of, 148–55, 157, 172–73
self-image of, 150
as slave, 142
strategy of, 186
Temujin adopts name of, 145
worldview of, 141
Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy (McLynn), 140–41, 145, 149, 153, 155
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (Weatherford), 142–43, 148–49, 152–53
Gettysburg Address, Lincoln’s, 236–37
Ghodsi, Ali, 243, 244
Girard, Philippe, 24, 28, 29–30, 33
goal(s)
and bad news, 239
and decision making, 230–31
of your culture, 246
See also mission
gold: story about, 101–2
Google, 4, 55, 72–73, 81, 227, 228–29, 232
Green, Barrett, 49–50
Greene, Diane, 51–52
Grove, Andy, 9–10
Gucci Mane, 45
guerrilla tactics, 31
hackers
and designing your culture, 198, 199
of Lyft, 81
and Podesta-Democratic Party emails, 72–76
Hagakure, 1, 91, 92, 93, 94, 103–4
Haitian Revolution
beginning of, 25–27
Britain and, 21, 26, 27, 28–29, 40, 44
and culture as infectious, 131
and Dessalines as emperor, 41–42, 43
and economy, 35–36
enduring power of, 43
France and, 21, 26, 27, 28, 35–36, 41–42, 44, 66, 76
funding for, 35–36
historical impact of, 43–44
justification for, 28
Louverture legacy and, 43–44
and Louverture reprogramming of slave culture, 21–22, 28–41
Louverture role in, 25–27
and Louverture weakness, 42–43, 76
race/color and, 28
Spain and, 21, 26, 27, 44, 66
as successful slave revolution, 20
See also Louverture, Toussaint
The Hard Thing About Hard Things (Horowitz), 203, 216, 229–30
hardworking: and designing your culture, 190–91, 192
Harpers Ferry: Brown raid on, 44
Hastings, Reed, 16, 67–71, 228
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle of Management, 129
Hell program, 81
helpfulness, 175–76, 178
Heretics (culture breakers), 216–17
Hewlett, Bill, 229
Hewlett-Packard (HP), 19, 52, 66, 78, 195–96, 229
hierarchies, 10–11, 144
Hiko’uemon, Moro’oka, 98
Hill, Napoleon, 117
hip-hop, 5�
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hiring profiles
designing your culture and, 189–94
and inclusion, 175–78
Histoire des deux Indes (Raynal), 23–24
history: and culture, 12–15
Ho Lu (King of Wu), 212–15
Hoelun (mother of Genghis Khan), 140, 141–42, 143, 152, 172
honesty/truth
and assigning new meanings, 235–36
of hip-hop, 7
purpose of, 38
samurai culture and, 99–100
Senghor culture and, 136
and your culture, 187–88, 233–42
See also integrity; lying; trust
honor: and samurai culture, 95–96
Horowitz, Ben
and bad news discussions, 240–41
as being himself, 183, 185
and caring, 195–96
contrarian thinking of, 19–22
and Cranney, 60–63, 64–66
Endres discussion with, 137–38
flaws/shortcomings of, 135–36, 183–84
hip-hop influence on, 7
at HP, 195–96
Lorne conversation with, 64–65, 66
and Louverture techniques, 59–63, 64–66, 77–78, 80–81
and Oprah interview, 107–9
Page discussion with, 228–29
and performance reviews, 131–32
and samurai culture, 104–6
and Senghor culture, 131–32, 135–36, 137–38
and snake story, 105–6
Stoute discussion with, 174
trust of, 77, 78
as walking the talk, 77–78
See also Andreessen Horowitz; LoudCloud; Opsware
Horowitz, Felicia, 109
Huawei, 85–87
humbleness: and designing your culture, 190–92
Hustle Man (prisoner), 122
hustler’s mentality, 6, 7
hybrid culture, 152–55
See also inclusion
IBM, 51, 52
ideas. See specific idea
identifying your culture, 179–80, 222
inclusion
application of principles of, 172–78
delegation of programs of, 173
diversity and, 172–78
egalitarianism and, 157–67
Genghis Khan culture and, 16, 139–40, 146–48, 152–55
and hiring profiles, 175–78
intentions and, 174
in modern world, 156–78
outsourcing of, 173
race and, 157–67, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178
and talent, 173, 175–78
and Thompson, 157–67
women and, 174, 175–76, 177
independence: culture of, 8–10
innovative ideas, 10–11
inspiration: from other culture, 180
integrity
and culture as infectious, 131
implementation of, 38–40
as long-term investment, 38
Louverture tactics and, 38–40, 41
and loyalty, 243
samurai culture and, 96
and who you are, 130–31
your culture and, 198, 243
See also honesty/truth; lying
Intel, 9–10, 11, 50, 52, 66, 128
intentions: and inclusion, 174