With InstaRead Summaries, you can get the essence of a book in 30 minutes or less. We read every chapter and summarize it in one or two paragraphs so you can get the information contained in the book at a faster rate. This is an InstaRead Summary of The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. Below is a preview of the earlier sections of the summary: Introduction - Ben explains that every time he reads a self-help or management book, he thinks about the fact that it didn’t really address the hard things like laying people off or having good people start demanding unreasonable things. The problem with self-help books is that they try to provide a recipe for dealing with difficult, dynamic situations. Challenging situations cannot be solved with a formula. Instead of using a formula in this book, the author presents his story as he progressed from an entrepreneur to CEO to venture capitalist. He shares some of the lessons he has learned along the way. He explains that although circumstances may differ, patterns and lessons resonate with each experience. For the last several years, he has shared lessons learned on his popular blog. Many people have emailed him to ask about the stories behind the lessons. Ben shares that he has been inspired along the way by many family members, friends, and advisers who have helped him. Hip-hop/rap music has also inspired him because these artists aspire to be both great and successful. He also admires that rappers see themselves as entrepreneurs.