Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO by Ben Horowitz: From Ben’s classic post: “Peacetime and Wartime management techniques can both be highly effective when employed in the right situations, but they are very different. The Peacetime CEO does not resemble the Wartime CEO.”

Most founders and CEOs have a gnarly gut instinct when something is wrong. What you do with that feeling?

We’re often told to “just be yourself” — and yet it’s so easy to try and be someone else, especially when you’re a founder or CEO. So why does it matter that you be yourself? And what are the unintended consequences if you don’t?

When facing a big, hairy problem, it’s natural to look for a silver bullet. The problem? Silver bullets rarely exist.

Of all the skills he’s had to master as a founder, CEO, and leader, the most difficult one for Ben has been how to master himself–and the same goes for hundreds of other CEOs he’s talked to. (Hint: if you’re the CEO, it’s always your fault)

That’s when you might find yourself in The Struggle. How do you survive? How do you not get not crushed?

“To CEO or not to CEO?” a16z General Partner Martin Casado shares his journey founding Nicira Networks, title fetishism, and the tensions and nuances around “founder-led companies.”

One day, the business is growing. The next day, it’s not. What do you do now? a16z General Partner Jeff Jordan argues that, once growth slows or stops, it won’t just come back magically, and he shares a process for creating the right plan to fix it.

When faced with an existential crisis, when sales and engineering may not be enough, what do you do? What are your options? a16z General Partner talks about the role of strategic business development and how it can lead to transformational opportunities for your company.

While many founders have heard that “cash is king” from investors, the reason they should believe it is not because investors tell them so. It’s because cash is freedom.

Ben argues that, while the CEO and CFO have necessarily different perspectives on the business, each needs to work hard to understand the other’s and use that to build trust for when it’s time for difficult decisions.

Though this article is focused on how SaaS businesses can survive amidst a volatile economic outlook, many of the principles discussed — focus on retention, acquire customers efficiently, manage runway actively — are useful for all kinds of startups and companies.