Ask HN: What's the best book for a tech guy who's becoming CEO?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37368239

by user0x1d • 3 years ago

17 17 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I have no idea how to run a company. Is there a book that covers some of what that means?

gregjor• 3 years ago

You should probably find someone who does know how to run a company. You learn that through a long process of increased responsibility and mentoring on the job, not from a book.

It won’t matter if the company consists of you calling yourself CEO, but it will matter if other people’s incomes and future depend on your ability to manage a company.

tikkun• 3 years ago

What's the context:

CEO of a small bootstrapped laundromat doing revenue of $300k a year with 1 employee?

CEO of a mid stage startup with a few million in revenue and dozens of employees?

CEO your own side projects with no revenue but aiming for revenue?

simon_acca• 3 years ago

I found “The personal MBA” by Jeff Kauffman to be a good start in that it provides a good foundational mental model to build on top of

toomuchtodo• 3 years ago

You need a mentor, not a book. Ask your network or people you trust to refer you to one. Do not feel bad about confirming or sanity checking their advice with others on your journey. Bad advice is worse than no advice, and it is challenging to suss out what will have value and what won’t.

drt5b7j• 3 years ago

Please ignore the guy who's saying "you need a mentor, not a book". Sure, get a mentor because that's easier to consume than a book. But in addition do read everything you can on it. I don't have a special suggestion, this is just general advice.

taf2• 3 years ago

Get a really good COO and keep on hacking

sharmi• 3 years ago

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Founder-Painfully-Honest-Startup...

Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin goes in deep about the challenges of leading a company. It felt honest and truthful and talks about the implications of each choice they made in tech and marketing.

muzani• 3 years ago

The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz. Maybe not the kind of book you wanted, and not too relevant unless you're running a billion dollar company. But it's a good read and inspired me to get out of a lost startup and into an acquisition.

jharohit• 3 years ago

best handbook https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEO-Within-Tactical-Building-eb...

ezedv• 3 years ago

I highly recommend "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries. It offers valuable insights on agile management and innovation, which are crucial in leadership roles.

As for LinkedIn, definitely showcase your outsourcing experience with a multinational corporation. It demonstrates your adaptability and ability to collaborate on a global scale, which can make your profile more appealing to potential employers.

simne• 3 years ago

We in exUSSR joke about this, and recommend two books: Bible and criminal legislation.

In reality, to run a company is not a chess. Most important you will see constant need to make decisions, without have enough information, so criminal legislation need to know, what to NOT do, and Bible, to accept fact, that you cannot control everything, some things will run their own way.

All books from famous persons, should be considered with huge grain of salt, because of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

As conclusion, I'm survivor, but not famous, and we could talk, ask if you wish.

askafriend• 3 years ago

We in exUSSR joke about this, and recommend two books: Bible and criminal legislation.

This is unironically the best advice in this thread.

morbicer• 3 years ago

"Crossing the chasm" is not a bad one

mand1575• 3 years ago

As a CEO and former tech guy (20yr corp and management exp.). A few things

1. Get feedback but make decision and standby it. But be willing to change. Doing things that are unpopular won't be easy especially when you hit a bump. 2. Be willing to fire quickly - including someone that you hired and think they are the best thing. 3. Acknowledge and give credit - Take fault and say you are sorry when things don't go right. 4. Avoid being a buddy buddy, also after parties - you have to wake up the next day look someone in the eye and lead them.

You are the captain of the ship - it's a wild ride, have fun keep your eyes and ears open.

deterministic• 3 years ago

“The Goal” is all you need.

trcarney• 3 years ago

I would start with Engineering Your Start-up by James A Swanson and Michael L. Baird. It's written for someone in your position. It should work as a good base to build off of.

JamesBarney• 3 years ago

The Great CEO Within is great for learning how to operate a company.

Ask HN: What's the best book for a tech guy who's becoming CEO?

Related Stories