“If the employees fundamentally trust the C.E.O., then communications will be vastly more efficient than if they don't. Telling things as they are is a critical part of building this trust.”

American businessman, investor, blogger, and author

Ben Horowitz is an American businessman, investor, blogger, and author. A technology entrepreneur of the late 20th and 21st centuries, he is best known as the co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz with Marc Andreessen. He previously co-founded Opsware, the enterprise software company where he served as president and chief executive officer before Hewlett-Packard acquired it in 2007. He also wrote The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers and What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture, books shaped by his experience with startups and business culture.