Wartime CEOs

Everyone in the tech industry these days is quoting Ben Horowitz on being a wartime CEO. For the first time in many years, business is less than completely amazing in the tech industry - growth is slowing, capital isn’t flowing as freely, stocks are dipping (or cratering).

We’ve not yet fallen into the massive sinkhole that swallowed the tech industry whole in 2001, but many of this generation’s founders and CEOs have never faced choppy waters.

When the going gets tough, the tough start communicating. In The Hard Thing about Hard Things, Ben asks: “So what makes people want to follow a leader?” He then answers that the first trait is “The ability to articulate the vision.”

It may seem counterintuitive, but when you’re struggling, you must communicate more. You must be more transparent, you must listen and encourage more.

Ben asks: “Can the leader articulate a vision that’s interesting, dynamic, and compelling? More important, can the leader do this when things fall apart?”

Can you? The right vision is like a well-built raft that can carry you and your whole team safely through rough waters. Every time you share that vision, you are inviting your team to climb aboard that raft/vision with you. The waters get rough, the rocks get bigger, but you keep communicating that vision to everyone on the raft as you run the rapids. That’s the only way to ensure that everyone on the raft knows their job, knows how to steer, knows how to tie down the supplies you’ll need. Most importantly, when everyone is wet and exhausted, you remind them why they are on that raft in the first place. You keep nurturing their belief (and yours) in where the raft is going, why the raft matters. When you communicate your vision well, everyone will want to be part of the scraggly and wet band of survivors that brings that raft safely into port after a harrowing journey.

To keep squeezing the life out of my raft metaphor, it’s essential to be transparent on the raft. If you don’t point out the huge rocks ahead, your team will smash right into them. Communicate more about the problems you’re facing. Don’t hide them. You need everyone on board to be able to make split second decisions to keep the raft and its passengers safe.

Finally, when you’re on the raft, you must listen and encourage more. Sometimes everyone on the raft is cold and wet. Sometimes the river washes essential supplies overboard. Sometimes one of your people can see crocodiles in the water that you can’t. Have more conversations in times of crisis, not fewer. Everyone needs to feel seen and valued, especially when they are making sacrifices.

Piloting a raft through rough waters is tough, especially when you don’t have a map. We don’t know what’s coming next, but if we have a resilient raft and a great team, we can make it safely to the next port.