What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture Hardcover – October 29, 2019

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's easy to read and interesting. Kept my attention. The book has a variety of examples regarding how cultures are made and also there applications in other fields. It also has some good qualifications on culture. Meaning that its HARD. One of my favorite books.

It's a good book, the reason it got 4 stars instead of 5 is that Ben (or his co/ghost author?) felt compelled to follow that hoary old technique of dredging up a handful of historical figures and projecting traits on to them that allow you to espouse the principles you wish to proclaim.Lots of good stuff, just have to mine it out from all the filler

It is very hard to write about culture. There are many ways of achieving the same thing, and many very different cultures that will work, depending on the leader and the people inside the business. So to write about culture generally is very hard, but Ben brilliantly achieved this.It is sometimes dangerous to retrospectively fit a story to the past to make it seem plausible. Narrative fallacy is the technical term for it. Ben does use stories to illustrates principles, and whether it is accurate or not is not really the point. It is refreshing to read non-conventional stories to illustrate culture, and I suspect the stories will also stand the test of time better (unlike Good to Great, where the examples used were undone by the companies themselves post the book).Finally, I loved the (sometimes profane) rap lyrics at the start of every chapter. I could not always understand what the relevance was, but that does not really matter.

If you are planning on beginning a start up, you are a general manager, CEO or a regular mid management you need to read this book. Definitely gives you a broad spectrum of the importance of the impact that culture has in any given organization. Shows you different styles, culture and you must achieve the one that fits you or your organization.

Ben’s blend of storytelling, anecdotes and guardrails are enjoyable to digest. There is no one answer around developing the right culture, but what this book does is lay a solid foundation and then articulate where things go wrong, and impress the art of defining your virtues in such a way that they are put into action vs air.. along the way learning more about CEO’s , historic figures (Genghis Khan, Louverture)

Just finished Ben Horowitz's best seller "What You Do Is Who You Are". An examination of culture with practical advice on building the culture you desire.The basic premise is that actions are louder than words. The real life and often personal examples Horowitz uses bear out this premise. What makes the book unique and thus compelling is the use of not typical corporate culture re-hashes. There are a few Apple and Amazon examples, but much of the book reflects on leading culture accomplishments such as the Haitian revolution, a prison gang, Genghis Khan and the Samurai code.A solid business read for its unique perspective, historical lessons and practical counsel. Check it out.

The conclusions without the background, or at least with more condensed background would have been sufficient to convey the points.Actual scenarios the author experienced were far more interesting then the historical context.I also found it odd that the emulated cultures were all quite violent and bereft of compassion. Even the member of the staff referenced was quite brutal to subordinates.In his own words, he talked primarily of "wartime [leaders] " . Not the alternative. But that is mostly beside the point. It was just distracting.

The book is full of practical advice on real-world dilemmas for build a fit-for-purpose company culture. The author synthesises the most dramatic historical cases with his own experience building a billion dollar company and advising other CEOs who built their own. The result is a riveting read and a brilliant guidebook. I finished the book in a week and I've already recommended it to two of my colleagues.