a16z Podcast

Companies & Culture: What You Do Is Who You Are

Ben Horowitz and Sonal Chokshi

Posted March 9, 2021

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.

More About This Podcast

The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.

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