What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz

Until we have our Library App up-and-running, I feel this is the best way to propose new books to read.

As mentioned in https://github.com/dwyl/product-owner-guide/issues/46 Ben Horowitz is _unquestionably_ one of the most successful product managers (_and later startup investor/coach_) in recent history.

I thoroughly enjoyed his previous book ["The Hard Thing About Hard Things"](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0062273205) and think that _everyone_ interested in startups (_or "management"_) should read (_or listen to_) it.

His new book was released this week: https://www.amazon.com/What-You-Do-Who-Are/dp/0062871331

And I think it has the potential to be _even_ better than the last one.
The new book aims to help teams and businesses create a purposeful culture that can weather the good times and the bad.

In the book, Ben examines four intriguing models of leadership and culture-building well outside the usual business case studies:
+ Haiti’s Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the only successful slave revolt in history
+ the Samurai, who ruled Japan for seven hundred years and shaped modern Japanese culture
+ Genghis Khan, who built the world’s largest empire
+ Shaka Senghor, an American ex-con who created a formidable prison gang and ultimately transformed prison culture.

## "_If you don’t methodically set your culture, then two-thirds of it will end up being accidental and the rest will be a mistake._"

### "_Your culture is who you are. Who you are is not the values you list on the wall. It’s not what you say at an all-hands. It’s not your marketing campaign. It’s not even what you believe. It’s what you do. What you do is who you are._"

More detail: https://a16z.com/2019/10/10/ben-horowitz-what-you-do-is-who-you-are-proceeds

### "_Ben’s book is a great read – with **uncomfortable truths** about **entrepreneurship** and **how to lead** a company_" ~ **Larry Page**

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/What-You-Do-Is-Who-You-Are-Audiobook/0008356149

@iteles thinking of spending this month's Audible credit on this book.
(_we will still have 3 credits available so you can get anything `else` you are keen on ..._)

Related:
+ Ben and Marc Explain (Practically) Everything – Part 1:
https://a16z.com/2014/08/25/a16z-podcast-ben-and-marc-explain-practically-everything-part-1
+ Ben and Marc Explain (Practically) Everything – Part 2:
https://a16z.com/2014/08/26/a16z-podcast-ben-and-marc-explain-practically-everything-part-2