Recommended by: WiseSuit Staff 

The fact that the former President and CEO of Intel wrote a book titled, Only the Paranoid Survive may explain a lot when it comes to the work culture at Intel. Andrew himself doesn't remember when he first said that but it certainly is his motto when it comes to business. He says he's paranoid about a lot of things, such as product, people, and competitors, but that's not what this book is about. The message of this book is his concern for "strategic inflection points."

Briefly, a strategic inflection point is "a time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the beginning of the end."

These changes could be caused by technological changes, changes in the competition, or some other business change. But it is about change and the wise person doesn't miss it or overlook it-that could spell disaster. The important point about change is that it doesn't have to end in disaster; not when those who are alert know how to adapt to the change. It's when a company ignores or doesn't see an important change and continues to operate in the same old fashion that it begins on a downward spiral to failure.

Most people would probably have to agree that they have been affected in some change in recent years in one way or another. For example, Andrew Grove states:

"We live in an age in which the pace of technological change is pulsating ever faster, causing waves that spread outward toward all industries. This increased rate of change will have an impact on you, no matter what you do for a living. It will bring new competition from new ways of doing things, from corners that you don't expect. "

Andrew Grove shares how the ability to a) recognize change and b) act on it successfully in took Intel from the memory chip to the microprocessor business, but deflected an unsuccessful try at the RISC chip business. He even understands that thinking about the Internet - and Internet appliances - with an "old head" may be hard to do, but may represent an inflection point and Intel's next Big Opportunity.

Reviews: 

"This terrific book is dangerous... It will make people think." - Peter Drucker, the Drucker Institute

"This book is about one super-important concept. You must learn about Strategic Inflection Points, because sooner or later you are going to live through one." - Steve Jobs, CEO, Pixar Animation Studios

"Probably the best book on business written by a business person since Alfred Sloan's My Years with General Motors." - Forbes

About the Author:

Andrew Grove, born September 2, 1936 in Budapest, Hungary, worked at Fairchild Semiconductor before becoming the third employee at Intel Corporation. He became Intel's president in 1979, its CEO in 1987, and its Chairman and CEO in 1997. He relinquished his CEO title in May 1998 and remained Chairman of the Board until November 2004. Grove continues his work at Intel as a senior advisor.

Categories:  Leadership ,  Biography