1: Things were looking bleak. Very bleak.
The year was 2001, and the dot-com crash was happening.
One by one, technology startups that only a year earlier boasted sky-high valuations and lavish offices were collapsing, leaving behind empty cubicles, burned-out servers, and a sobering lesson in the perils of unchecked optimism.
Loudcloud CEO Ben Horowitz decided to sell the company’s cloud business and pivot to software.
“The situation was complex, … continue reading
1: “Remember, Ben, things are always darkest before they go completely black,” said Netscape founder Marc Andreessen to his business partner and then Loudcloud CEO Ben Horowitz.
“He was joking, but as we entered our first quarter as a public company, those words seemed prescient,” Ben writes in his wonderful book The Hard Thing About Hard Things about being a Wartime CEO. The year was 2001. It was … continue reading
1: “The peacetime CEO does not resemble the wartime CEO,” Ben Horowitz writes in The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers.
One example? “A basic principle in most management books is that you should never embarrass an employee in a public setting,” Ben notes.
“On the other hand, in a room filled with people, [Intel CEO] Andy Grove once said to … continue reading
1: It was the middle of the dot-com implosion in 2001. Loudcloud CEO Ben Horowitz sat in his office, arms folded.
Across from him sat two colleagues, both of whom had graduated from Stanford Business School.
They presented forty-five slides about why Ben’s decision to start a software division was “quixotic, misguided, and downright stupid,” he writes in his book The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
“They argued that … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we’re working on at PCI.
Last month, I shared my proven annual goal-setting process. For the past seven years, I have selected ten annual goals. Which I call “The 10.”
I select my goals from … continue reading
1: One summer night in Milwaukee, the San Francisco Giants lost to the Brewers in a brutal late-inning collapse.
Bruce Bochy, the team’s manager, found himself sitting alone in his office, brooding over the loss.
Still restless, he decided to walk back to the team’s hotel.
“It was maybe four miles, and it was late, and the Brewers’ stadium is not exactly pedestrian-friendly,” Rustin Dodd writes in his post … continue reading
1: In the 1980s, Microsoft founder Bill Gates began secluding himself for a week each year, cutting off communication to dedicate time solely to reading and thinking.
He called it “Think Week.”
It was his time “to be creative and push his thinking with new depth and breadth,” Sahil Bloom writes in his book The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.
“It allowed him … continue reading
1: “Shutdown complete.”
Those are the two words we should say at the end of our workday.
Why? Because we are trying to create a “bright line” between our professional and personal lives.
When we are working, we are working. All-in. 100%.
And when our workday is over, we set a boundary so we can be 100% present with our families, friends, hobbies, or whatever we do to relax and … continue reading
1: “In an early 2000s study on the impact of meditation,”  Sahil Bloom writes in his book The 5 Types of Wealth, “psychologist Richard Davidson asked Matthieu Ricard to meditate while covered in sensors and wires.”
Matthieu had earned his PhD in cellular genetics before leaving academia to become a Buddhist monk in India.
“Along the way,” Sahil notes, “he worked as a French interpreter for the Dalai Lama… continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share a fresh perspective on living.
This week, we’ve been exploring some of Sahil Bloom‘s ideas on Mental Wealth from his book The 5 Types of Wealth. Today, we share a selection of “Mental Wealth Hacks I Wish I Knew … continue reading
