Companies & Culture: What You Do Is Who You Are
The a16z Show9 Mar 2021

Companies & Culture: What You Do Is Who You Are

This podcast -- which was recorded at the Computer History Museum in a live event, before the pandemic (first published in December 2019) is all about how companies create culture: A lot's changed... and a lot hasn't.

a16z editor in chief Sonal Chokshi interviews a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz -- author of the book What You Do Is Who You Are -- on whether companies and people can change; how the very thing that is your strength can also be your weakness; how startups evolve from pirates to the navy; actions vs words and values; and more. The discussion also covers common tropes that often come up in Silicon Valley folklore -- whether it’s “fake it til you make it” and the “reality distortion fields” of visionaries… vs. liars.

Drawing on historical themes and examples from a thousand years ago to today -- spanning empires, wars, revolutions, hip-hop, and prisons -- the discussion covers key themes and nuances, as well as practical advice, on creating company culture. Please note -- especially if you’re listening on smart speakers at home with children or with kids in a car -- that the discussion that follows includes various mentions of violence. 100% of the proceeds of the book go to anti-recidivism as well as towards helping Haiti.

Nick Quah, writer and publisher of Hot Pod (also at Vulture) joins a16z general partner Connie Chan -- and editor in chief (and showrunner of the a16z Podcast) Sonal Chokshi -- to talk about all this and more in this hallway-style jam.

Stay Updated:

Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube

Find a16z on X

Find a16z on LinkedIn

Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify

Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts

Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(1000)

a16z Podcast: Reinventing Insurance

a16z Podcast: Reinventing Insurance

Your homeowner’s insurance didn’t anticipate Airbnb. Your car insurance certainly didn’t see Lyft and Uber coming. And when your car drives itself, it’s anyone’s guess how the insurance industry will ...

29 Jan 201624min

a16z Podcast: When Banking Works Like My Smartphone

a16z Podcast: When Banking Works Like My Smartphone

There are fewer and fewer parts of our lives that don't feel like an extension of our smartphones. Any song you might want to hear. Any place you might want to go. And a ride to get there. All served ...

29 Jan 201627min

a16z Podcast: Things Come Together -- Truths about Tech in Africa

a16z Podcast: Things Come Together -- Truths about Tech in Africa

We often hear stats like “more people have mobile phones than toilets” about places like Africa, but what does that actually mean for people? “It is b.s.,” (no pun intended), argues one of the guests ...

25 Jan 201646min

a16z Podcast: The Fundamentals of Security and the Story of Tanium’s Growth

a16z Podcast: The Fundamentals of Security and the Story of Tanium’s Growth

The thing about enterprise security, from the outside at least, is it reads like a Hollywood thriller. Nation states are after your company’s most valuable assets and they must be stopped at all costs...

20 Jan 201637min

a16z Podcast: Software is What Distinguishes the Hardware Winners

a16z Podcast: Software is What Distinguishes the Hardware Winners

Smartphone components have become a kind of Lego kit for all kinds of consumer technology. Cameras, sensors, and batteries all get mixed and matched in different permutations to create different gadge...

15 Jan 201630min

a16z Podcast: Nobody Discusses Work Software Outside of Work -- and Then There’s Slack

a16z Podcast: Nobody Discusses Work Software Outside of Work -- and Then There’s Slack

For as long as there has been software we have had this collective hope -- maybe more of a desire -- that software will make all kinds of work easier, more productive, and more creative. Spreadsheets...

13 Jan 201630min

a16z Podcast: Harnessing the DevOps Movement -- Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls

a16z Podcast: Harnessing the DevOps Movement -- Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls

In this, world of massive cloud-based applications and services, rolling out software has moved from an episodic event to an almost continuous release cycle. In that environment, software products are...

8 Jan 201612min

a16z Podcast: Making the Most of the Data That Matters

a16z Podcast: Making the Most of the Data That Matters

Every organization these days is clear about the need to get its data act together. But that doesn’t mean the path toward data bliss is clear. Data has gravity. It resides in different places at diffe...

7 Jan 201631min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
pengepodden-2
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
utbytte
pengesnakk
liberal-halvtime
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
lederpodden
rss-pa-konto
rss-politisk-preik
finansredaksjonen
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
rss-densannepodden
rss-impressions-2