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The essay text was not included in the supplied content — the scrape returned only Ben Horowitz's author page (bio, book titles, and a list of other a16z talks and posts). Please re-share the actual body of 'What's The Most Difficult CEO Skill?' to extract highlights faithfully.
The actual essay content was not provided — only Ben Horowitz's bio and a directory of his other a16z content. No highlights from 'What's The Most Difficult CEO Skill?' can be extracted from this material.
Page scrape returned navigation and author bio rather than essay body.
Ben Horowitz was cofounder and CEO of Opsware (formerly Loudcloud), which was acquired by HP for $1.6B in 2007 — the survival story that became the basis for The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
Author bio context
Horowitz's recurring leadership framework distinguishes wartime vs. peacetime CEOs: different modes of operating demand fundamentally different skills, tolerances, and cultures.
Referenced across multiple linked talks in the archive
'What You Do Is Who You Are' — Horowitz's thesis that culture is not what you say or write down, but the behaviors you actually tolerate and reward day to day.
Title of his second book, central to his leadership writing
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EssayBen Horowitz
Oct 2012 · 12 min read
Being a CEO requires mastering unnatural skills, especially the foundational practice of giving honest, authentic feedback.
EssayBen Horowitz
Mar 2011 · 16 min read
Managing your own psychology is the hardest CEO skill, harder than organizational design or hiring, because everything wrong is your fault.
EssayBen Horowitz
Jul 2010 · 11 min read
CEOs who hide bad news destroy trust and prevent their best people from solving hard problems.
EssayBen Horowitz
9 min read
Strategies for reducing destructive internal power dynamics and factionalism in growing companies.