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The Hard Thing About Hard Things meanders along several HR-related issues, providing practical solutions based on the author?s experience in leadership positions across organisations

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The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Ben Horowitz

Harper Business

Rs 699

Pp 289

THE HARD Thing About Hard Things is a book by Ben Horowitz in which he expresses his views on basic HR issues based on his experience in leadership positions in various organisations he founded and worked with. The book is not short on the use of profanities, which will strike the reader as odd. But then, the author explains that profanities are a part of the culture of IT-based companies and have to be accepted, provided their use does not go overboard and gets interpreted as personal assault. He, however, does not explain how one should draw a line on this.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things meanders along several issues related to human resource management, providing solutions based on Horowitz?s judgment, and not on any theory or general practices in the industry. Let us sample some of his covenants. As a CEO, he believes one should not take too much on oneself or take things personally and that the entire business is like playing a game of chess. In times of stress, he says, it is better that there are more people working and this is where it becomes important to trust others. If things go wrong, one should spread the news openly, as adverse news travels fast, leading to speculation.

Horowitz has his own theory on firing employees and devotes several pages on what should be done. Layoffs are necessary when a company does not do well and one should not delay this process, trying to cloak it by linking it with performance. One should, in fact, train managers to do this. More importantly, it should not be done stealthily, but openly. As a CEO, Horowitz says, one should address employees rather than equivocating personally with those being given the pink slip.

Horowitz treads a different territory when he talks about colleagues who are also friends. What do you do when you have to demote a friend? How do you tell them that there are better people to do their job? Here, he believes in straight play rather than creating new roles, which mean nothing for the person. Surprisingly, Horowitz believes that it may not be right to hire employees from a friend?s organisation. He suggests that in such cases, one should get an NoC from the CEO of the other organisation. This may not find favour with several companies in a free market for employees.

Horowitz also highlights that training is very important for an organisation and this is often ignored, as companies want to save time and money. But this is a fallacy because training helps raise productivity levels and the final quality of whichever product one is dealing with, be it manufacturing or service. Further, he argues that the entire system of performance management breaks down in case one does not train employees. How else can one actually judge anyone at the end of the day if one has not invested in such training? This is a useful message for several Indian companies that pay little attention to training, assuming that one learns on the job.

The author is against people from big organisations working in smaller companies, especially start-up ventures. Besides inter-personal problems that come up given the difference in pay scales, it requires adjusting to the role and rhythm, which may not work well. Therefore, he posits that one should find out why the person wants to join and he should be grilled on this score. He believes that anyone who wants to further his CV is not the right candidate. Here again, the reader will disagree because ultimately everyone works for self-enhancement along with the company?s progress. Hence the two cannot be separated, as no one works for altruistic reasons. Expecting it to be otherwise may not be rational.

Horowitz also suggests keeping politics to the minimum?but is that really possible, considering there are bound to be favourites? He also has a chapter on titles and designations, and blows hot and cold on their usefulness. While giving titles is a good way to keep employees happy, as very often one does not have to give more money for such titles and designations, there is a question of what happens when one reaches the level of competency, which goes with the designation, but can go no further? That?s when promotions become difficult.

The author warns of smart employees turning slack when they start believing that they are bigger than the organisation and start badmouthing the firm. The reader may disagree here, as this outcome is largely a result of how organisations treat their employees?a relatively fair employer will never run this risk. Probably, Horowitz should re-examine this theory based on why the smart people he dealt with turned hostile.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things is a collection of several small chapters on the different aspects of dealing with employees. It is not a template or a suggestive platform, but a collection of random thoughts of a CEO who has a view on the various aspects of HR based ostensibly on his own experiences. If one does not mind the bawdy language used at times and is willing to listen to suggestions that are personal and not universal, this book could be interesting to peruse.

Madan Sabnavis is chief economist, CARE Ratings

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First published on: 26-10-2014 at 02:38 IST
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