Good The Hard Things About Hard Things Essay Example

Introductions: The Hard Things about Hard Things

The book “Hard Things about Hard Things” is an absorbing book that presents the best management encounters ever captured in writing of any management piece of work. Suppose that, as an entrepreneur your business is practically collapsing to the last stretch and investors have refused to fund the business anymore. The most trusted advisers and friends are anticipating that probably the best thing to do is throw the business into the towel. Worse enough the business is the family livelihood and the entire family depends solely on it. After evaluation of the options as the last-ditch efforts to acquire some capital for the business, and one adamantly decide to step out and make the company public. However, as an entrepreneur you are half sure that the move will collectively make the company completely bankrupt; thus such efforts are superfluous. In the process, put up a brave face for every banker to ensure that the business gets that one call to effectively watershed the business’s status to be functional again.

The “Hard Things about Hard Things” relevance in class

Based on the Birch Paper Company case the practicality of Horowitz‘s book does not fit the situation James Brunner and a Thompson Division Manager experiences. The Hard Things about Hard Things is not starting up a business venture as an entrepreneur but controlling and building a successful business venture in the long run. The dilemma faced by Brunner is managing or controlling the anticipated price of $480 for the boxes as opposed to lower costs of about $450 or even $430. The implication of such acceptance will be the division losing profits or worse enough not even recovering fair overhead costs share. Through reading Horowitz‘s book “The Hard Things about Hard Things” and its realistic entrepreneur advice makes it a different perspective of management as it was before. Based on the Birch Paper Company case in conjunction with Horowitz‘s book “The Hard Things about Hard Things” one lesson learned is that ‘get real, when thing seem to be falling apart.’ The book further highlights that even stock markets can crash, clients may leave, competitors emerge or worse investors can bail on. Horowitz states that despite the fact thing aren’t going on your way as a leader, entrepreneur or a manager the best thing one can do is to get real. The book articulates that no one will ever step into one else’s mess and corrects the mess. Horowitz advises that on such situations concentrate all the possible human efforts in finding a remedy that seemingly may be impossible in the current mess.
Based on the Buffett’s strategy, the critical aspect is to determine or identify the product that works, and fix the right people for the job. The new business strategy with its four control levers Horowitz articulates the effectiveness of the levels in enhancing better management in the entrepreneur sector. The beliefs systems; care values should enhance business to grow customers loyalties and critical managerial skills applications in enhancing care values of the company. Traditionally, companies have embraced the beliefs systems in efforts of articulating values and appropriate directions that CEOs or seniors managers aspire for their employees to embrace collectively. Typically, the beliefs systems are always concise, inspirational, and value-laden based in the business management. Horowitz discusses the models that should be embraced in running the business through the concise frame of what is required of the employees and the aspired values and directions the CEOs want them adopted. Through setting succinct values that employees should adopt or embrace in running the business, it makes management easy. Horowitz goes beyond other management written materials in discussing ‘interactive control system; strategic uncertainties.’ As many recognize that the uncertainties keep managers awake at night, Horowitz prefers just to concentrate on the issues that face the business at the time rather than worrying for the unseen. As when the business is small senior managers (entrepreneur) and employees may sit at the same table and collectively deliberate on the emerging threats and possible opportunities. However, when the as the business become bigger senior managers often tend to lose contacts with employees. Horowitz confronts the tools that such boundaries or lack of contacts should be minimized through the use of seminars and interactive measures. The boundary systems; risks that should be avoided according to Horowitz considers concentration on the challenges faced at the moment that are anticipated in future problems. The worrying of future prospects should be minimized as they exhaust one’s emotional resources. Based on “Hard Things about Hard Things”, Horowitz express with much honesty on the possible ways that managers perceive their line of duty thus giving them hectic experiences in management. Rather Horowitz states the importance of corporation with employees and the essence of CEOs with the open mindset to capitalize the sharing of threats and opportunities in the market.
When building a company, startup CEOs are encouraged to avoid playing the odds based on Horowitz’s advice to entrepreneurs. CEOs must always believe that there are answers to their uncertainties rather than believing on their personal odds. Based on the HCC industries when one is forecasting on stretch targets CEOs should think optimistically. Such concepts may work for different companies based on the sizes of such companies and their respective markets they operate in. based on lecture 9 of the class on evaluating how vibrant and heterogeneous the business market is the transfer pricing can apply in scenarios where certain organization do better than others. Transfer pricing = {evaluating each division value/ the significance of the division}, the model can be used in organization’s vertical integration purpose. For the four years, HCC has some divisions performing very well while others had been doing poorly. In relation to such context Horowitz articulates the ‘Law of Crappy’ people states. “Any level of a large organization, talent on such level should eventually converge to the crappiest individual with that particular title." The concept captured here is that through better projections of the organization that believes in answers rather than the odds in starting up the business. The book inspired me personally, and the lesson learned is that ‘Growing pains’ that is having right people at a given right time. In a more realistic manner, Horowitz articulates Silicon Valley prevailing culture of “Go big or Go home.” Primarily this means that entrepreneurs necessarily requires, on how they can figure such scales of the business. Horowitz notes critically that the hardest thing in business is designing on how to get the right people in your business or your team as an entrepreneur. Often entrepreneur are lured to what Horowitz calls the fallacy scale anticipation in the start-up company. Due to such reasons CEOs may begin or aspire to start big talent names hoping that the organization will raise ranks to the next level in the market. However, the problem is that big names often are over-sized in the venture thus ending up squashing the potential due to frustrations. As a result, they end up exhausting the business’ particular management energy. Working in Amigos Wine Company exposed vast market exposure personally negotiated with the contractor to exports ice Canada and the red wine to capitalize China on the international demand for high-end products. Based on such perspectives of experience Horowitz’s “Hard Things about Hard Things” it expanded my entire reasoning on the management levels and articulating the impact of Horowitz advice on management. Better understanding of the running of the organization would foster the organization such as HCC industries to improve its division’s performance collectively.
As many people talk how good it is to start up a business, they fail to acknowledge the honest reality of how hard it can be to run the business successfully in harsh competitive environments. For instance, the process of starting a business is not that easy because survey should be done to come up with the right information. The owner of the business should understand the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and weakness. Also, the person starting the business should understand the business concept and the competition in the business field. Horowitz analyzes such problems that leaders face through incorporating his personal experiences gained through developing, investing, managing, selling and better supervising or managing concepts. Based on the personal experience of working as Manager Assistant in Liaoning Yinsheng Tech Ltd Horowitz has not only gave insights on managing the high tech company for me but solved managerial problems. Articulating from the book, class work and personal experiences in the administrative posts, the weather good or bad in any business it is contagious. Based on Barsdale Jim Horowitz boss says, “As a business we take care of the customer, our products and profits in the order.” Critically analyzing such basics of management in accounting for the business growth the realistic aspects of controlling the business makes a different from other previous books on management. As an entrepreneur, one needs to have the right team or people for the proper duty or work. The often mistakes that managers make is having wrong people in their team thus the ability and impact of creating and delivering products become insufficient. Thus, lack of the product to be competitive in nature that can generate the business profits the business process is doomed. Based on such revelations, there are three primary lessons that personally in an extract from the Horowitz book such as hire in regard to strengths Vs. Weakness, invest in team training and create a great working place. The implication for such lessons is to ensure that those who remain understand the situation better and stick with the CEOs thus they can collectively forge ahead.
At Borealis, for instance, the new financial and a steering system had been in place that abandoned Borealis’ traditional budget. The new systems were to favor more purposeful tools such that key performances indicators, reporting trends and other financial rolling forecasting. Reading the book a number of logic lesson that can be extracted from the book is that as a manager one needs to have the ‘mental strength.’ For instance, while working as China Student Assistant, Accounting in Jiaxinnuo Supply Chain Company, ‘Mental strength’ was enhanced through department collaboration. Being tasked to collect data from the purchasing, finance and operations department to come up with company’s expense and transactions and digitize receipts, to enhance managers to make decisions for the company’s budget 2011-2012. Based on the personal experience gained in the field management can be achieved through sharing and coordinating with company’s employees to find solutions that faces the company. Primarily Horowitz articulates that as any manager or CEOs often face and act with tremendous pressure in their duty of work. Articulating in such situation, when time seems tough such as dealing with unsatisfied employees, investors or even clients management can be a lonely occupation. Based on the first CEO psychological rule, “One should not ever talk about any mental meltdown”. In dealing with pressure, Horowitz notes three tools that can help CEOs and business leaders such as building trusted friends circle, as a tool it will help one to have open thought in the circle. Such friends will foster one to think effectively through the challenging situations thus enhancing mental strength. The second tool Horowitz articulates is the ‘clear mind’ or open mind. Horowitz articulates that explain the thoughts through putting them onto the paper. The tool enhances mental strength through giving room for one to see and get a better perspective of the situation that one faces as CEO. Finally, Horowitz collectively encourages entrepreneurs to set personal ‘emotional Bandwidth.’ Psychologically, dwelling on the past or worrying about the business future eats one’s emotional resources. Based on Horowitz advice the fundamental thing is to remain focused on what is at hand as opposed to worrying about the future.
Primarily, Horowitz articulates that no recipe for building a better business as that is the hardest thing is that there exist no apparent formulas in dealing with issues that have not been given answers. As an entrepreneur, one need to learn what Horowitz puts as ‘personal learning.’ No matter the kind of person one is, one must have two critical friends in life. First, a friend you can call upon when a good thing happens and who will not fake their excitement. The second kind of a friend is the most important friend who you call upon when a thing goes horribly worse. Someone who one will always call and be assured that they will always respond to that one call. However, incredibly Horowitz encourages entrepreneurs rephrasing their worst case situations to their better action plans rather than conceding the most dangerous situation. For the purpose of succeeding in the startup of the business, it is critical that existence alternative action plan always be in place. Often the plausible case is all the business needs, and the employees require as their motivational hope that keeps the company alive.
Product strategy is another critical aspect that the book “Hard Things about Hard Things” articulates the capturing the entire logic of management. Product strategy, for instance, is based on figuring out what are the appropriate products that the rests of an entrepreneur works or the innovator. An entrepreneur takes what seems possible but must always go against what is true. Thus, product innovation is the combinations of skills, knowledge and entrepreneurs’ courage to create something out of nothing. For instance, an entrepreneur can build something generically from nothing and when it does not work the entrepreneur watches the thing go back to nothing or useless. However, when an alternative exists, that will see one building a product from nothing to something worth $1 million franchise; the business embraces the plausible scenario. Based on such assumptions and Horowitz’s rationale for creating a management that make thing happen rather than a system that watch things happing is what makes the book different. Working in Amigos Wine Company Guangzhou, China 2013-present founder, product strategy enhanced effective negotiation to capitalize on product strategy in China in ice export. The company capitalized on the high international demand of the end product thus leading to licensing of the product. What differentiates market owners and the market loser are the fact that entrepreneur, keep up with scenarios that seem as though there is no answer, but they alternatively find appropriate answers.
The book “Hard Things about Hard Things” gets better in the articulation of the honest CEOs as Horowitz puts it “tells things as they are.” As an entrepreneur running a company, one may experience extremely overwhelming psychological pressure in an overly positive manner. Horowitz encourages entrepreneurs to stand up and firmly respond to pressure and their fear of telling the actual state of the situations. Through experience in Guangdong Chenganxin Account Co. Ltd, personally, I was tasked to initiate cross-train with employees in maintaining proactive work ethic. Thus, through candidness it accelerated productivity within the company initiatives. The process was to establish efficiency and ease manager workload. The collective sharing of the situation will enhance trust and togetherness in the organization. As people focus primarily on their duties in the organization with the confidence of doing the right thing, there will be a reward for them. The company would see them as a source of potential or they would be seen to be working positively. The trends articulated that when one knows that the work or duties they carry out is effective, efficient and that it would make a difference in their company they would always find their personal life to be motivating. Such work spirit can be achieved when the employees are involved in the company’s current situations and sorting problems collectively as a team of stakeholders of the company. The concept captured is through better projections of the organization that believes in answers rather than the odds in starting up the business. It can also be achieved when the employees are motivated for the good work one has done. Horowitz in his book “Hard Things about Hard Things” changes the version of management of involving employees in seeking answers to the problem facing the company. Through such initiatives company members to a greater part feel more concerned about the company; they are working in for a better productive process thus making management easy and better. Having a great team that is concerned with the welfare of the company and aspire to grow with the company as it will impact their lives is the dream of any CEO in the market.
Finally, Horowitz articulates “life is struggling.” Based in the quote it lies the most important lesson that entrepreneurs should always embrace struggle in the essence of realizing their dream. Primarily, the struggle makes entrepreneurs be more developed more skills in controlling the company that one starts. There are many hard lesson learned from Ben Horowitz as an entrepreneur and capitalist in his book “Hard Things about Hard Things” goes beyond the management scenario to provide the insights about management. Horowitz’s approaches to management are realistic in nature as he dispels that myth of entrepreneurship as an exciting process. Horowitz articulates “the prevalent myth is based that entrepreneurship is fun.” However, the sad reality articulated in the book is that starting up and running a successful business is incredibly sturdy pulverize and emotionally debilitating experience. The experience can be Euphoric as it enhances accomplishment of a dream but more often it can be a terrifying strategy at the starting point when there is the numerous uncertainty of the business journey. Horowitz’s “Hard Things about Hard Things” is an absorbing book in management that has embraced simplicity, and better business articulations have been enhanced. Lastly, the hindsight and advice that are articulated in the book are realistic in nature to the business world. Thus, hard things will always be hard things hence struggle the only way that one can achieve their dreams.

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