Business Leadership Management

What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture (Summary)

by Ben Horowitz

To lead the only successful slave revolt in history, Toussaint Louverture took a shocking step: he forbade his officers from keeping concubines. This wasn't about morality; it was about culture. In a world where sexual exploitation was a symbol of power, this rule was so jarring it forced his army to confront and adopt a new, higher standard of discipline and trust. It was a rule so memorable that it redefined who they were.

Culture is Built on Shocking Rules

To make a cultural value stick, it needs to be embodied in a rule that is so memorable and counter-intuitive that people constantly ask, 'Why do we do that?' The answer to the 'why' is the value itself.

At his company Opsware, Horowitz created a 'Pan-European-Asshole' award for the person in the European sales team who did the most to help a colleague in another country, even at their own expense. The shocking name made the award famous within the company and powerfully reinforced the cultural value of pan-European teamwork over individual glory.

Learn from Samurai, Not MBAs

Abstract corporate values like 'excellence' are useless. Instead, Horowitz looks to established warrior codes like the samurai's Bushido, which focused on specific, actionable virtues that guided behavior in life-or-death situations.

The samurai code didn't just say 'be loyal'; it dictated exactly how a samurai must behave to demonstrate loyalty to their lord. A modern company can apply this by defining a virtue like 'ownership' not as a poster, but as a rule: 'If you see a problem, you must fix it or find someone who can.' This makes the value a concrete action, not a platitude.

What You Tolerate Defines Your Culture

The culture you have is not what you preach, but what you are willing to let slide. Your company's real values are revealed by which behaviors you punish and which ones you ignore.

Horowitz tells the story of an Uber executive who was a high performer but engaged in rampant sexual harassment. Uber's leadership knew about his behavior but tolerated it because he delivered results. This inaction sent a clear message that performance mattered more than respect, cementing a toxic culture that later erupted in a massive public scandal.

Your Culture Must Evolve or Die

A company's culture isn't static. As a company grows, faces new challenges, or enters new markets, its culture must be consciously adapted and reinforced to meet the new reality.

When Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) grew, its initial culture of informal, free-wheeling debate became chaotic. They had to introduce a new cultural element: 'strong opinions, weakly held.' This virtue explicitly required people to argue their points forcefully but also be ready to change their minds completely when presented with better data, adapting the culture for a larger, more complex organization.

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