Diaundra's TL;DR - What You Do Is Who You Are Ben Horowitz đ„
8 things I learned reading âWhat You Do Is Who You Areâ by Ben Horowitz
Quick note: The fun in writing these recaps for me is the challenge of trying to condense an entire book into a quick digestible summary. The âconstraintsâ that I give myself when writing, is that my final summary must fit on one screen of my iPhone within the ânotesâ app.Â
In writing this recap in particular, I found myself in a deeper challenge than usual. Why you may ask? Because author, Ben Horowitz, did such an incredible job closing the book with his own two page summary (pg. 244-246). After many battles with self of trying to out summarize the authors summary, I decided âif itâs not broke, why fix it?â So in this weekâs summary, here is a summary of the summary. Hope you enjoy (:Â
What every culture needs:Â
Cultural design: align your culture with both your personality & your strategy. Dont be ambiguousÂ
Cultural orientation: Be intentional with setting a lasting impression about how to be successful in your organizationÂ
Shocking rules: âAny rule so surprising that it makes people ask âwhy do we have this ruleâ will reinforce key cultural elements. Think about how you can shock your organization into cultural compliance.âÂ
Incorporate outside leadership: Bring in proâs from the culture you aspire to haveÂ
Make ethics explicit: Do not assume people will do the right thing. Define âthe right thingâ and make sure people know expectations around themÂ
Give cultural tenets deep meaning: get to the root of the ultimate whyÂ
Make decisions that demonstrate priorities: Reinforce your culture through how you show up
Walk the talk: What you do is even more important than what you sayÂ
A question for you: What would people say speak louder in relation to how you show up, your actions or your words?
DM me you answer on IG. For a full list of all my 2023 reads & what iâll be reading next check out my âTable of Contentsâ.
Till next time, be blessed. đ
With love,
Diaundra