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Ask HN: What's the best book for a tech guy who's becoming CEO?

17 points by user0x1d 3y ago

I have no idea how to run a company. Is there a book that covers some of what that means?

trcarney 3y ago
I would start with Engineering Your Start-up by James A Swanson and Michael L. Baird. It's written for someone in your position. It should work as a good base to build off of.
gregjor 3y ago
You should probably find someone who does know how to run a company. You learn that through a long process of increased responsibility and mentoring on the job, not from a book. It won’t matter if the company consists of you calling yourself CEO, but it will matter if other people’s incomes and future depend on your ability to manage a company.
tikkun 3y ago
What's the context: CEO of a small bootstrapped laundromat doing revenue of $300k a year with 1 employee? CEO of a mid stage startup with a few million in revenue and dozens of employees? CEO your own side projects with no revenue but aiming for revenue?
simon_acca 3y ago
I found “The personal MBA” by Jeff Kauffman to be a good start in that it provides a good foundational mental model to build on top of
toomuchtodo 3y ago
You need a mentor, not a book. Ask your network or people you trust to refer you to one. Do not feel bad about confirming or sanity checking their advice with others on your journey. Bad advice is worse than no advice, and it is challenging to suss out what will have value and what won’t.
drt5b7j 3y ago
Please ignore the guy who's saying "you need a mentor, not a book". Sure, get a mentor because that's easier to consume than a book. But in addition do read everything you can on it. I don't have a special suggestion, this is just general advice.
taf2 3y ago
Get a really good COO and keep on hacking
sharmi 3y ago
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Founder-Painfully-Honest-Startup-ebook/dp/B078HX9ZL3?ref_=ast_author_dp https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Founder-Painfully-Honest-Startup... Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin goes in deep about the challenges of leading a company. It felt honest and truthful and talks about the implications of each choice they made in tech and marketing.
muzani 3y ago
The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz. Maybe not the kind of book you wanted, and not too relevant unless you're running a billion dollar company. But it's a good read and inspired me to get out of a lost startup and into an acquisition.
jharohit 3y ago
best handbook https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEO-Within-Tactical-Building-ebook/dp/B07ZLGQZYC https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEO-Within-Tactical-Building-eb...
ezedv 3y ago
I highly recommend "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries. It offers valuable insights on agile management and innovation, which are crucial in leadership roles. As for LinkedIn, definitely showcase your outsourcing experience with a multinational corporation. It demonstrates your adaptability and ability to collaborate on a global scale, which can make your profile more appealing to potential employers.
simne 3y ago
We in exUSSR joke about this, and recommend two books: Bible and criminal legislation. In reality, to run a company is not a chess. Most important you will see constant need to make decisions, without have enough information, so criminal legislation need to know, what to NOT do, and Bible, to accept fact, that you cannot control everything, some things will run their own way. All books from famous persons, should be considered with huge grain of salt, because of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias As conclusion, I'm survivor, but not famous, and we could talk, ask if you wish.
- askafriend 3y ago
  > We in exUSSR joke about this, and recommend two books: Bible and criminal legislation. This is unironically the best advice in this thread.
morbicer 3y ago
"Crossing the chasm" is not a bad one
mand1575 3y ago
As a CEO and former tech guy (20yr corp and management exp.). A few things 1. Get feedback but make decision and standby it. But be willing to change. Doing things that are unpopular won't be easy especially when you hit a bump. 2. Be willing to fire quickly - including someone that you hired and think they are the best thing. 3. Acknowledge and give credit - Take fault and say you are sorry when things don't go right. 4. Avoid being a buddy buddy, also after parties - you have to wake up the next day look someone in the eye and lead them. You are the captain of the ship - it's a wild ride, have fun keep your eyes and ears open.
deterministic 3y ago
“The Goal” is all you need.
JamesBarney 3y ago
The Great CEO Within is great for learning how to operate a company.

17 points by user0x1d 3y ago

I have no idea how to run a company. Is there a book that covers some of what that means?

I would start with Engineering Your Start-up by James A Swanson and Michael L. Baird. It's written for someone in your position. It should work as a good base to build off of.

gregjor 3y ago

You should probably find someone who does know how to run a company. You learn that through a long process of increased responsibility and mentoring on the job, not from a book. It won’t matter if the company consists of you calling yourself CEO, but it will matter if other people’s incomes and future depend on your ability to manage a company.

tikkun 3y ago

What's the context: CEO of a small bootstrapped laundromat doing revenue of $300k a year with 1 employee? CEO of a mid stage startup with a few million in revenue and dozens of employees? CEO your own side projects with no revenue but aiming for revenue?

simon_acca 3y ago

I found “The personal MBA” by Jeff Kauffman to be a good start in that it provides a good foundational mental model to build on top of

toomuchtodo 3y ago

You need a mentor, not a book. Ask your network or people you trust to refer you to one. Do not feel bad about confirming or sanity checking their advice with others on your journey. Bad advice is worse than no advice, and it is challenging to suss out what will have value and what won’t.

drt5b7j 3y ago

Please ignore the guy who's saying "you need a mentor, not a book". Sure, get a mentor because that's easier to consume than a book. But in addition do read everything you can on it. I don't have a special suggestion, this is just general advice.

taf2 3y ago

Get a really good COO and keep on hacking

sharmi 3y ago

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Founder-Painfully-Honest-Startup-ebook/dp/B078HX9ZL3?ref_=ast_author_dp https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Founder-Painfully-Honest-Startup... Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin goes in deep about the challenges of leading a company. It felt honest and truthful and talks about the implications of each choice they made in tech and marketing.

muzani 3y ago

The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz. Maybe not the kind of book you wanted, and not too relevant unless you're running a billion dollar company. But it's a good read and inspired me to get out of a lost startup and into an acquisition.

jharohit 3y ago

best handbook https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEO-Within-Tactical-Building-ebook/dp/B07ZLGQZYC https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEO-Within-Tactical-Building-eb...

ezedv 3y ago

I highly recommend "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries. It offers valuable insights on agile management and innovation, which are crucial in leadership roles. As for LinkedIn, definitely showcase your outsourcing experience with a multinational corporation. It demonstrates your adaptability and ability to collaborate on a global scale, which can make your profile more appealing to potential employers.

simne 3y ago

We in exUSSR joke about this, and recommend two books: Bible and criminal legislation. In reality, to run a company is not a chess. Most important you will see constant need to make decisions, without have enough information, so criminal legislation need to know, what to NOT do, and Bible, to accept fact, that you cannot control everything, some things will run their own way. All books from famous persons, should be considered with huge grain of salt, because of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias As conclusion, I'm survivor, but not famous, and we could talk, ask if you wish.

askafriend 3y ago
> We in exUSSR joke about this, and recommend two books: Bible and criminal legislation. This is unironically the best advice in this thread.

morbicer 3y ago

"Crossing the chasm" is not a bad one

mand1575 3y ago

As a CEO and former tech guy (20yr corp and management exp.). A few things 1. Get feedback but make decision and standby it. But be willing to change. Doing things that are unpopular won't be easy especially when you hit a bump. 2. Be willing to fire quickly - including someone that you hired and think they are the best thing. 3. Acknowledge and give credit - Take fault and say you are sorry when things don't go right. 4. Avoid being a buddy buddy, also after parties - you have to wake up the next day look someone in the eye and lead them. You are the captain of the ship - it's a wild ride, have fun keep your eyes and ears open.

deterministic 3y ago

“The Goal” is all you need.

JamesBarney 3y ago

The Great CEO Within is great for learning how to operate a company.