Ben Horowitz on Executive Firing (and Hiring)
Ғылым және технология
The holy grail of company building is finding product-market fit. But what most people don’t tell you is that once you’ve found it, product-market fit brings its own set of challenges, particularly when it comes to scaling rapidly and hiring the right executives at the right time.
Drawing from their extensive experiences, a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Databricks cofounder and CEO Ali Ghodsi sit down to talk about the hardest things about executive hiring and firing, and what is at stake.
They dive into the common reasons an exec fails, why sometimes micromanagement is a good idea, and the difference between someone who has written a playbook and someone who has only run one.
If you’d like to dive even deeper, the Growth team at a16z has spent the last year compiling insights from dozens of leaders at late-stage startups to literally write the book on hiring executives to scale. You can find that book at: a16z.com/execut...
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Post-product market fit
03:07 - When is it time to let someone go?
05:41 - When do you give someone a chance to grow into the role?
07:05- Let go or level?
09:27 - How do you have the tough conversation?
16:39 - Exit packages
18:40 - Setting a new leader up for success
24:27 - The importance of the first quick win
26:24 - The impact a new leader has on culture
32:52 - Common ways new leaders fail
37:35 - Closing thoughts
Resources:
Read the Executive Hiring: The Key to Scaling in the Growth Stages: a16z.com/execut...
Learn more about Databricks: www.databricks...
Find Ben on Twitter: / bhorowitz
Find Ali on Twitter: / alighodsi
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: / a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: / a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: a16z.simplecas...
Follow our host: / stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures
Пікірлер: 19
Topics Covered: 00:00 - Post-product market fit 03:07 - When is it time to let someone go? 05:41 - When do you give someone a chance to grow into the role? 07:05- Let go or level? 09:27 - How do you have the tough conversation? 16:39 - Exit packages 18:40 - Setting a new leader up for success 24:27 - The importance of the first quick win 26:24 - The impact a new leader has on culture 32:52 - Common ways new leaders fail 37:35 - Closing thoughts
Do I have to be bald to work at a16z?
@szymonpruszynski4496
8 ай бұрын
To even send a CV
@joenapoli2473
6 ай бұрын
No, but you do have to be a comdian so don't bother applying..
@mixtape-yd2sn
4 күн бұрын
Bald plus a slick shiny skull
What is the biggest issue you run into with hiring?
@thebluriam
Жыл бұрын
I sometimes struggle with rooting out disingenuous people.
Props to ali for taking this convo it’s a tough one
Thoughts on succession planning? In December '23 two Databricks founders and one board member sold shares @ $65 in secondary markets amassing $32M each. This was disclosed in Tender Offer’s docs issued by Databricks in January ‘24. Looks like the management doesn’t care about the company or its employees anymore.
I loved this convo. So insightful.
2 of the smartest chess players in the business
What qualifies as a quick win? Appropriate for an executive.
Steph is good, quality content
Ben's wisdom (as always)!
9:20 is the says the THING!!!!!
Hold up: 16:40, you just encouraged infighting. That's bad. You are saying all execs are wolfs and you have to fight. I can accept people are players on teams and Michael Jordan wasn't nice around his teammates. But you are now dependent on Michael Jordan.
Some uneasiness about lack of belief in plg
This is hard to listen to
This is so bad, you should donate every book to a recycling plant and delete your podcasts. How were you guys VCs like this for so long.