Weird ways Ben Horowitz makes Founders more confident
About This Episode
A16Z co-founder Ben Horowitz shares unconventional leadership insights and behind-the-scenes stories, ranging from his involvement in reopening the Tupac murder case to the early management evolution of Mark Zuckerberg. He discusses the critical role of confidence in founder success and explains how to build a high-performance culture through specific, enforceable behaviors rather than abstract values.
Episode Description
Show Notes
- 0:00Intro
- 5:36Why most leadership books don't work
- 9:25What to do when your CTO is an asshole
- 17:54What makes Zuck a great CEO
- 27:09#1 reason why founders fail as CEOs
- 33:10Startups solving America's problems
- 39:19Opportunities for young people
- 44:25Culture rules with shock value
- 55:25Jeff Bezos' new startup
- 57:00Ben's uncommon traits
- 1:00:13Wisdom accelerators
- 1:03:24Paid in Full
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Key Takeaways
Combat organizational inertia by scheduling daily 8 AM meetings for critical, stalled projects to force immediate communication and resolve minor blockers that typically slow down teams.
Define culture through specific, enforceable behaviors with real consequences—like fining late attendees—to signal organizational priorities more effectively than abstract value statements.
Prevent project failure by addressing personnel issues early; as a leader, you must move beyond the fear of being disliked to provide honest, direct feedback about ineffective behavior before it poisons the organization.