No one every claimed it would be easy! Whether it be passing an exam, getting a job, managing a team or running a business. However, we at The Nassau Guardian always strive to make your life a little bit easier and hopefully the next few minutes will demonstrate this.

In the book 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things', Ben Horowitz, reflects upon his experiences of founding, running, selling, buying, managing and investing in businesses; offering practical advice on managing the toughest problems. His venture capital firm invests in entrepreneurs building the next generation of leading technology companies, which has included Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to name but a few. Horowitz was also CEO of Opsware which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion in 2007, so I think we can safely assume that he knows what he is talking about and how to make hard decisions. His advice is based upon anecdotes from his own hard-earned success in dealing with the killer issues with no easy answers, including:

o The challenges of demoting (or firing) a close friend;

o Is it ethical to hire key people from your friend's company;

o How to manage your own well-being and sanity, whilst the whole company is relying upon you;

o What do you do when smart people become bad employees;

o When you should consider selling your company and how you should to do it.

Strangely, Horowitz demonstrates his business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs and I was unsure if he was trying to write a best-selling business book, or get into the top ten of the music charts! However, it did help me remember key points regarding firing friends and poaching staff from competitors, but I wouldn't suggest that you sing to them whilst doing it as you might get slapped!

Ultimately, 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things' provides useful advice on dealing with the many common problems that confront Bahamian business leaders every day relating to developing, managing, selling, buying, and supervising companies.

Just don't expect it to be easy.

o 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things' by Ben Horowitz and published by Harper Business.

Keith Appleton JP, BA (Hons), N.Dip.M, MInstLM has extensive experience within an academic, managerial and strategic leadership role. He is a member of the UK Institute of Leadership & Management and can be contacted at KeithAppleton@Hotmail.co.uk.

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