How to manage by Ben Horowitz

I've been rewatching Ben Horowitz's lecture on How to Manage (YC + Stanford how to start a startup -- link in comments)

There are so many insights in here that are counterintuitive for me.

It all starts from viewing each complex decision from the perspective of the whole company.

#1 - If someone asks for a raise and you give it to them out of cycle, you're killing the culture. You're punishing everyone who didn't ask for the raise.

#2 - If someone isn't performing well, demoting them isn't a good option. You're defining what it means to fail on the job, and what that looks like. The probability that someone can feel motivated to work at the level you expect after an event like that is near zero. Better to start fresh.

These decisions may seem like one-offs, especially at the early stage.. but they have compounding effects as you grow and may accidentally become your culture without you being aware of it!

The entire lecture series is a treasure. I'm grateful that it was open sourced and put out into the world.

Check it out here: https://youtu.be/j7tr3IlH5Ro