Sep 24 2024 13:18 — 1 min read

The hard thing about hard things

#quote #product-manager


My favorite quote so far. Every time I start with a new product or a new startup, this quote is around my head and sets me in chaos, it reminds me, threatens me, and makes me excited. So weird.

The hard thing isn’t setting a big, hairy, audacious goal. The hard thing is laying people off when you miss the big goal. The hard thing isn’t hiring great people. The hard thing is when those “great people” develop a sense of entitlement and start demanding unreasonable things. The hard thing isn’t setting up an organizational chart. The hard thing is getting people to communicate within the organization that you just designed. The hard thing isn’t dreaming big. The hard thing is waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat when the dream turns into a nightmare.
— Ben Horowitz