CEOs are Made Not Born
Meet Ben Horowitz:
Ben Horowitz is Co-founder and General Partner Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm. He is the author of “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” and “What You Do Is Who You Are.” Prior to a16z, Ben was Co-founder and CEO of Opsware (formerly Loudcloud). When Opsware was acquired by Hewlett-Packard, he became their Vice President and General Manager of Business Technology Optimization for Software. Ben received a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Columbia University and a Masters in Computer Science from UCLA.
Key Insights:
Software is eating the world. It is a disruptive force in healthcare and other industries.
- The Power of Software. Software is disrupting all industries. From Amazon, to Netflix, to Uber, good software can increase efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction. To Ben, there is no business that wouldn’t be improved with world-class software.
- Going Against Nature. As humans, we naturally want people to like us. However, telling people what they want to hear is a bad quality for leaders. As a founder of CEO, you may need to make tough calls that are necessary but will cause others to be upset.
- Follow Your Contribution. Passions can change, but talent tends to be more persistent. Ben recommends following your contributions, go where you think you can make the biggest impact with your unique skills and background.
This episode is hosted by Gary Bisbee Ph.D. He is a member of the Advisory Council for Day Zero and is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Think Medium.
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