Run Towards Fear

Ben Horowitz says the worst thing a leader can do is hesitate. Not make the wrong decision - hesitate. The avoiding, the putting off, the hoping it resolves itself. That's what kills companies.

And what makes you hesitate? When both choices are horrible. When there's no good option, just bad and worse.

Horowitz made some of the hardest decisions in startup history - including taking his company public with only $2 million in revenue because the alternative was bankruptcy. The Wall Street Journal called him stupid. Businessweek dubbed it 'The IPO From Hell.'

But he survived. The hesitaters didn't.

'The psychological muscle you have to build to be a great leader is to be able to look in the abyss and go, okay, that way is slightly better. We're going to go that way.'

Parenting is full of these moments.

The conversation about the friend who's a bad influence. Setting the boundary your child will hate. Saying no to the screen time that's destroying dinner. There's no good option - just bad and worse.

You can delay. Hope it resolves. Avoid the conflict.

Or you can run towards the fear. Have the hard conversation today. The one you're dreading is almost always the one that matters most.