Rating: Summary: A very good read Review: Love him or hate him, Andy Grove has written a very readable book. I'm not sure that the decision to stop making DRAM chips has an immediate analog in my life or career but it is an interesting story. Of all the business/computer industry books that I have seen this was the easiest read
Rating: Summary: Paranoic means to be extra cautious Review: Mr. Grove had a hard life, he knows how to struggle and come out of crises. He shows us how to. He is a survivor and for that you need a methodology, he has one. When is the rigth time to launch the new project or solution? He relies, after research, on intuition. Is there anything else? Either that or one can become sick with the pressure.
Rating: Summary: A BOOK FOR NOT SO PARANOID NEW MANAGERS Review: My feeling is I want to know more, not about the strategic inflection point and its consequences (known as well as technologial breaktrough) but on how to prepare for it, what are the signals (or noises) and what are the relationships between you as a manager (set the strategy, take decisions, resolve problems...) and you as a person highlty motivated not to say paranoid about work (time management, moving skills, relations networks...)
Rating: Summary: Can the Paranoid survive Armageddon? Review: Not really. Even the companies with the greatest flexibility could be killed by a meteor like the 97/98 Asia financial crisis. Only those companies with sufficient reserve and reasonable adaptability could survive. But the book mentions nothing about sound financial management. Perhaps that is all too implicit with a company like Intel.
Rating: Summary: Incredible insides and hints for managers to come Review: Only very few people are frank to share their experiences leading to success without being pathetic; Andy Grove is one of them. His insides and his management style definitely create a new kind of role model manager. His advice is very applicable, and if realized would enhance the business atmosphere most probably in any company. My critique on his book is that he did not even bother to mention where most of his ideas came from. For instance, his paranoia can be traced back to Igor Ansoff who developed the early warning systems, first for defence purposes later for business. Grove' s point of reigning in chaos has already been propagated by Tom Peters, and the loose organizational structure are at home at Henry Mintzberg. One can appreciate the fact that these concepts have been applied in reality, although, a mentioning of these business gurus in a footnote would have been welcome. One has to remember that his book is a "How to do" manual and not a "Where it came from" encyclopedia, therefore it cannot become an academic textbook. Nevertheless, very few business leaders are entering the hall of fame and are contributing to the business conduct as Andy Grove does.
Rating: Summary: Drivel Review: People are like corporations? Get a life! This book has been studiously ignored by even the mainstream business press who otherwise worship anything associated with Intel. If you must buy this book, wait until it hits the remainders table
Rating: Summary: Want to be a great manager - Go to West Point Review: The business advice was banal; but it's easy and generally fun to read. At the same time I agree with a reviewer who said it's a poor source of recipies but it does subtly, eventually, stimulate you to think. Just 164 pages in a large typeface, most of it being anecdotes. Bring it to the beach.Andy Grove is very into winning for its own sake. For example when listing various kinds of loss that can occur when a company goes into difficult straits (p. 124) he concludes with "perhaps the most wrenching, the loss of being affiliated with a winner." As an engineer, I was hoping to see a glimmer of joy in semiconductor products and technologies from the chairman of Intel, and didn't see it. The joy is all in being one step ahead of the competition.
Rating: Summary: Recommended for the beach Review: The business advice was banal; but it's easy and generally fun to read. At the same time I agree with a reviewer who said it's a poor source of recipies but it does subtly, eventually, stimulate you to think. Just 164 pages in a large typeface, most of it being anecdotes. Bring it to the beach. Andy Grove is very into winning for its own sake. For example when listing various kinds of loss that can occur when a company goes into difficult straits (p. 124) he concludes with "perhaps the most wrenching, the loss of being affiliated with a winner." As an engineer, I was hoping to see a glimmer of joy in semiconductor products and technologies from the chairman of Intel, and didn't see it. The joy is all in being one step ahead of the competition.
Rating: Summary: Excellent history and insight into Intel's Success! Review: The concepts discussed are applicable to not only the computer industry, but every industry, career or personal endeavor. I do not appreciate the title or the concept of "Only The Paraniod Survive". A better title would have been "Be Open To Change Or Dead". Andrew Grove gives a great personal introduction to the cassette. The content is easy to listen to and gives a fresh perspective
Rating: Summary: Not another paradigm shift book Review: This book is an inspirational and thought provoking guide for those that have never been through what Grove classifies as a Strategic Inflection Point. As a leader in an industry going through massive change, I find this book to be one of the few that I will refer back to time and time again.
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