Big companies have trouble with innovation. Innovation is about bad ideas, or ideas that look like bad ideas. That's the fundamental thing.
Ben HorowitzRead
As long as people are clear on what they need to do and what's going on, you're very likely to succeed. When nobody is clear, then you're guaranteed to fail.
Interpretation
Clear communication and understanding are essential for success; without them, failure is inevitable.
This quote emphasizes the importance of clarity in communication and understanding within any endeavor. It suggests that when everyone involved knows their roles, responsibilities, and the objectives at hand, the likelihood of success increases significantly. Conversely, a lack of clarity leads to confusion and chaos, ultimately resulting in failure.
In practice
In a team meeting about project goals, this quote can be used to stress the importance of everyone understanding their roles.
Big companies have trouble with innovation. Innovation is about bad ideas, or ideas that look like bad ideas. That's the fundamental thing.
As a company gets big, the information that informs decision-making gets massive. Depending upon the prism through which you view the business, your perspective will vary. If two people are in charge, this variance will cause conflict and delay.
You read these management books that say, 'These are the hard things about running a company.' But those aren't really the hard things. The hard things are when you have to layoff half your company, or you have to fire your best friend. Or you have to figure out a way not to go bankrupt.
Look - this is the terror of being a founder & CEO. It is all your fault. Every decision, every person you hire, every dumb thing you buy or do - ultimately, you're at the end.
Nobody knows how to be a CEO. It's something you have to learn. It's a very lonely job.
I emphasize to C.E.O.s, you have to have a story in the minds of the employees. It's hard to memorize objectives, but it's easy to remember a story.
...it will not always happen that the success of a poet is proportionate to his labor.
The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.
Our favorite holding period is forever.
My success was not based so much on any great intelligence but on great common sense.
When a great team loses through complacency, it will constantly search for new and more intricate explanations to explain away defeat.
Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time. ... Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.
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