The Hard Thing About Hard Things

This is one of my favorite and most relatable books. Not only does he have similar feelings about his high school and company (as a football player and being stressed out all the time), but he also begins each chapter with a rap! This guy is so cool. I wrote about him and his book in my Stanford essays.

To be honest, I read this book 6 months ago and have book slacking off on my book summaries. Also, during my Stanford interview, Yinan asked me specific questions about the book (cuz I told him it inspired me), but I couldn't answer them lol.

Anyway, based on my notes and what I remember, this is what's important.

• Firing is hard emotionally, but if someone doesn't fit your culture or is not doing what is required/expected, fire them immediately
• Firing should not be a surprise, but you should take care of them. Leave a good impression for future employees and create good working conditions
• In layoffs, the CEO should clearly state that it's the company's fault.
• CEO is a lonely job: no one else has all the information; you can't share the burden by taking the "accepted" answer from other employees because the company will die; no one is born a CEO and must experience failure to succeed later on
• Take care of your people first, then your shareholders
• When deciding equity, everyone should be just a little unsatisfied; that's how you know you've done it right
• Be honest. People see through fake positivity, and it actually makes you look stupid. If you're in trouble, say so
• Bad news spreads automatically, so there's no point in trying to cover it up. Surprises destroy employee's trust in leadership and hurts morale
• Take care of HR, because taking care of employees is the only way to create a great company; more important than the product or profit themselves
• Spend time investing in employee training. It may take a while at first, but in the long run, it's worth it (saving a little time multiplied by 365 days a year)
• One-on-one meetings are very important, and they should not be forced. Managers should do 85% listening and less talking. If there's a problem, employees need a way to communicate that privately and safely
• Nobody cares. It doesn't matter if you fail with a great reason; spend all your energy finding the one impossible solution (also in sports psychology speech by Mr. Creighton)