In “What You Do Is Who You Are,” Ben Horowitz, a prominent venture capitalist and modern management expert, explores how to create and sustain a purposeful company culture. Drawing lessons from history and modern organizational practices, Horowitz presents practical advice for executives to build resilient cultures that thrive in both good and bad times.

The book examines four historical leaders who successfully shaped their cultures against the odds:

• Toussaint Louverture, who led the only successful slave revolt in Haiti.
• The Samurai, who ruled Japan for seven hundred years and influenced modern Japanese culture.
• Genghis Khan, who built the world’s largest empire with a vision of cultural inclusiveness.
• Shaka Senghor, a convicted murderer who transformed prison culture.

Horowitz connects these historical examples to contemporary business scenarios, illustrating how their cultural techniques can be applied by modern leaders like Reed Hastings at Netflix and Travis Kalanick at Uber. He also highlights the importance of culture in companies like McDonald’s under Don Thompson and Frontier Communications under Maggie Wilderotter.

The core message of the book is that culture is not just about the values a company lists on its walls or its marketing campaigns. It is about the actions and decisions made daily by its people. Horowitz provides actionable guidance to help companies understand their own strategies and build a successful culture that aligns with their goals. The book is a journey through culture from ancient to modern times, answering fundamental questions about identity, customer treatment, and trustworthiness.