"Wall crack Recommendation" Ben Horowitz on the culture and management of the start-up company

Absrtact: Ben Horowitz, one of the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, the most hot-air investment company in Silicon Valley, co-founded Loudcloud after the successful creation of Netscape by Marc Andreessen (renamed Opsware), sold to Whitney

in 2007 for 1.6 billion dollars.

Ben Horowitz, one of the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, the most hot-air investment company in Silicon Valley, co-founded Loudcloud after the successful creation of Netscape by Marc Andreessen (renamed Opsware Sold to HP in 2007 for 1.6 billion dollars. In 2009, two people co-founded Andreessen Horowitz Venture capital, such as Tornado edition to disrupt the Silicon Valley wind circle. As a legendary entrepreneurial leader, Horowitz in his recently published "difficult Pioneering road" (The Hard Thing about Hard things) a book detailing its VC before the entrepreneurial experience, YC Entrepreneurship class 15th, Sam Altman asked him to tell us how entrepreneurs make decisions in multiple perspectives, students who want to watch the course video can go to YC entrepreneurial class Chinese community

Sam invited me to spend 50 minutes on a management class after I had finished writing a 300-page book, and I didn't have time to compress my 300-page book to 50 minutes, so I'm only going to talk about a management concept today.

Multi-angle Thinking

Every time you make a big decision, you have to learn to think about it from a number of angles, not just from your point of view, from the perspective of the other side, but from the perspective of the spectator and everyone else, from the perspective of the company as a whole. You need to stack up with everyone else's point of view to avoid undesirable side effects or potential crises.

For corporate managers, when making big decisions, there is often a great deal of pressure, and it is not easy to think in many ways.

I will explain this management concept through the following four cases

Case 11 A very diligent executive is not qualified for his job, is it a demotion or a dismissal?

One of the company's top executives, he's more diligent than anyone else in the company, doing everything, and everyone likes him, and he's really smart. But his knowledge and experience are not enough to support him to do his work, always compete with others. Should he be expelled or demoted to stay?

Management perspective: He is very diligent in his work and can't bear to expel him. Demote use, but also give others a good demonstration. Besides, he has a good rapport with everyone in the company, leaving him in favor of creating a corporate culture.

Executive perspective: I don't want to be demoted, but I don't want to get expelled, but if I get fired, how can I explain this to the next employer when I get a job?

Other employee perspective: He was demoted and I was on the rise, why should I listen to him? We did the same job with him, but he owned some of the company and I didn't, and I was not.

All of these angles should be taken into account, and realize that you are not dealing with a personal problem, which involves the entire company. Different situations should be handled differently, perhaps this executive is not hired from the outside but you have always been optimistic about the person, you are a soft want to continue to stay with him, but you have to know how this will affect other people.

Case 21 A good employee raises a raise, whether should agree?

Management perspective: He did a really good job, asking for a raise in a reasonable range, and I hope they stay in the company, pay a raise, it's such a pleasant decision!

Employee perspective: I've been thinking a lot about salary increases. There are headhunters at a higher price to dig me, there is higher wages, my wife has been advised me to change jobs, I think I need to mention a raise with the boss, if he does not agree with me to change jobs, if he agreed that would be great!

Other employee perspective: Why does he get a raise? I work better than he does! I'm going to ask the boss for a raise!

The company should determine his remuneration by examining the performance of its employees, and if he agrees hastily with the employee's request for a raise, it may create a feeling that the company lacks a reasonable remuneration mechanism or that its workforce is actually undervalued.

Do not secretly give employees a raise, remember that the paper can not be wrapped in fire.

The best way to do this is to fix a set of corporate culture-compliant pay standards. Some startups hate all sorts of rules, but it's necessary.

For the employee who raises the salary, you can say to him, "I'm not going to give you a raise right now, but I want to hear your reasons." Then I'm going to find out about your situation with the people you work with, and I'll evaluate all the things you do, and I'll do the evaluation every once in a while and then judge if I need to give you a raise. ”

When I was CEO, as the company grew bigger and more ambitious, and many people desperately wanted to manage, there was such a set of criteria that would make everyone feel better, so that everyone wouldn't have to be on the verge of anxiety every day.

Case 3 picks up Sam Altman's blog about options.

Sam's blog mentions that startups often do not have a good incentive to share their employees. He thinks the reason is:

Employees usually don't share enough

The employee usually fails to pay the tax on the exercise of the option (the option is a general income chargeable to tax), which means that the difference between the right price and the company's share price will need to be taxed on the same day.

The tax policy on employee options is sometimes unreasonable

Employees often lack knowledge of stocks and options

Sam Altman advises startups to take the following steps:

extended the 90-day tenure to 10 to create a new type of stock for employees. Reduce the tax pressure for the employees to do well the popular science work of option and stock to optimize the current equity distribution mode, from a few a year to a few of the annual increase in the way, motivate employees to continue to stay in the company

Sam believes that the turnover of employees because the tax is too high to go to the option, such a tax policy is too unscientific, suggesting that startups extend the option's duration from 90 days to 10, even if the incentive option (ISO) may become a non-standard stock option (NSO), but still better than losing that part of the asset.

But there is a reason for the term of the right to do so, because 2004 years ago, when the APB 25th was in force, if you give an employee a 10-year term, the company will not be able to go public or be acquired because the company's pay will fluctuate with the stock price as the Employee exercises the option. This is why the term of the right of tenure is generally stipulated in the 90-day reason.

So the problem is, for those who want to leave, because they cannot pay the tax in 90 days, facing the inability to exercise the option, how should we solve it?

Company perspective: I must be fair! I should try to encourage everyone to stay! I do not want to leave the staff, but I am helpless!

Departure Staff perspective: I paid a lot for the company, I have to get the equity I deserve! Company recruit me when I come in is not to tell the truth, I do not know I have to pay so much tax and the right to the line only 90 days! I have to tell everyone about this! If I get expelled, I'm screwed!

Other employee's perspective: How much will he get when he leaves?

What would happen if the company extended the term of the right of tenure to 10?

Employees will remain in the company for fear of losing their equity options, but the 10 line of business has reduced the risk. When employees go to a new company, they not only get the salary of the new company, but also have the option of the original company, leaving the employee with only the option.

Sam voice-over: I'm correcting my blog at the moment, please don't spit >_<. ）

Case 4 pioneer of history--Toussaint-Louvitourt

Doussens Louvitourt, leader of the undersea revolution, successfully led the first slave uprising in human history and established the first independent black nation in Latin America. Doussens Louvidours opened the prologue to the entire Afro-Latin American Revolution, setting an example for the people of Latin America to overthrow colonial rule and establish a free country.

Ben was wearing a custom T-shirt with a Toussaint avatar on teespring, while Teespring's A and B-round financing were all made by a16z.

Toussaint, a slave-born black man, was devastated by slavery, but he wanted to do more than abolish slavery, build new countries, and build it into a world-class country. For a slave-born person, it is difficult to jump out of the slave's perspective, and from her we can see the importance of multiple angles of thinking.

In the process of conquering the enemy, he not only considered from the point of view of the soldiers, but also paid special attention to the issue from the perspective of building the National Cultural Foundation.
Toussaint forbid soldiers to rob or rape, or even to allow officers to betray their wives, because these rebel forces are the builders of national culture, in order to achieve the goal of building a first-class country, he must build a world-class culture. He knew that Haiti was far less civilized than Europe, especially the slave civilization, so after each victory, he had absorbed the best of the enemy into the Haitian army.

In the treatment of slave owners, Toussaint showed a superior wisdom far beyond the background of his slaves. Toussaint knew the slaves hated the slave owners very much, but he also understood that the slave owners ' sugar cultivation was the foundation of the national economy, and that the construction of a first-rate country needed such economic support. He stood in the slave-owner's point of view, the slave owners spent a lot of money to buy slaves and land, their low cost comes from the cheap labor of slaves, but they are proficient in trade. So after the abolition of slavery, he kept the owners of the land, but paid the slaves a lower salary, and he lowered the slave owner's taxes so that their sugar trade could continue to prosper. Toussaint's multi-angle thinking is the most glittering part of his political wisdom.

So, not only from your point of view, the other side of the angle, as well as the company owner's point of view, because they formed the company, they are the company's future. CEO, have you learned?