Monday, November 27, 2006

Only the Paranoid Survive

Written by Andy Grove, this book is not really about Intel but it is about what one can learn from the experience. The book can be summarized in one quote:

Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure.
Only the paranoid survive.

Andy explains his point through a strategic inflection poin(SIP)t. When a company is going through an SIP, all the business rules suddenly change. A company that is able to spot this and act upon it will be the one moving forward. Frequently, it is not possible to recognise the strategic inflection point until it is actually occurring. For this reason, the most successful companies are the ones that are always questioning and looking over their shoulders. The outcome of an SIP is illustrated aptly:


The book is full of common sense, backed up with case studies from the world of successful - and not so successful - businesses. This book reminded me of a quote by Charles Darwin:

It’s not the survival of the fittest or the most intelligent species,
But the one who is most adaptable to change.


Truly - Only the Paranoid Survive.

Watchful,
Neo.

img courtesy intel

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cool stuff. Amazing quote.

This is so much like Tom Peters style.
Do read him. Very inspiring books.

And love your creativity displayed in your sign-off.

Inspired,
Neo

Jolvin Rodrigues said...

Interesting book...looks like a must read...thanks for the review and recommendation

Anonymous said...

either your feed or my feed reader were misbehaving. i assumed you havent written in a while.

i am glad that you are watchful - SIP should be plural? is there only one - are there many small points where we adjust slightly too?

glad you are watching out!