• The most important qualification of a soldier is fortitude under fatigue and privation. Courage is only second; hardship, poverty and want are the best school for a soldier. - Napoleon Bonaparte.
Introduction:
Dr. Andrew (Andy) Grove is one of the most influential entrepreneurial leaders of the twentieth century. In leadership theory, it is well accepted that childhood experiences shape the characteristics of great leaders. Most great leaders have had a very difficult childhood. They remain fighters and survivors throughout their lives. Dr. Andy Grove is one of them. He is absolutely right - Only the paranoid survive. Our management article of this week is about him. I have summarized all the information available in the public domain and would like to thank all the sites on the internet that provided the information about him. It is not mine or original but I have added my comments, interpretation and explanations wherever applicable.
Dr. Andrew Grove Dr. Andrew Grove was named the most influential business leader over the past 25 years by Wharton and Nightly business report in 2004. He holds a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkley. Intel is the company that introduced the world's first microprocessor in 1971. Intel has played a seminal role in the evolution of modern computing. It is impossible to conceive of today's global networked economy without Intel or to imagine Intel without Andy Grove. Dr. Andrew Grove's life and career consistently reveal his imagination, resolution and integrity.
The early years Andrew Grove was born in Budapest, Hungary, on September 0 2, 1936 and his original name was Andris Grof. The Jewish family was modestly prosperous; an acute attack of scarlet fever nearly killed him. The illness left him almost completely deaf for years until surgery corrected the problem. His Father, George Grof was drafted into a work brigade in the Hungarian army and disappeared for three years. During World War II, as Jews in Hungary were being rounded up, young Andris and his mother went into hiding, changing their name to Malesevics and moving in with Christian acquaintances. At the age of 14, he aspired to become a journalist and was a reporter for the youth newspaper, which was under the influence of the government. After a relative was imprisoned without a trial, the newspaper stopped publishing his articles. This experience turned him off journalism. He switched to science.
When the Soviet tanks crushed Hungary's rebellion under Alexander Dubcek, he and a friend escaped from Hungary, initially crossing the border into Austria and then sailing to the U.S. The International Rescue Committee helped bring him from Vienna to New York City. Later he Americanized his name to Andrew Grove. Entered City College of New York to study engineering. When Andrew Grove was a student of engineering at New York's City College in the mid-1950s, he faced a problem. The one-year scholarship he received as a Hungarian refugee was about to run out and to speed up his graduation; he needed to take courses in the chemical engineering department. The chairman, Professor Schmidt, taught a crucial course. Unable to schedule an appointment with him, Grove waited outside the classroom one day and seized his chance to present his case to the professor. Professor Schmidt, Dean of the Chemical Engineering department, gave Grove a job and later becomes his mentor.
He joined the research and development laboratory of Fairchild Semiconductor in 1963. Founded in 1957, the company initially started out making transistors for IBM and other customers, but the company became well known after researcher Robert Noyce co-invented the integrated chip in 1959. Became assistant director of R&D at Fairchild Semiconductors, working under Gordon Moore, the propounder of the famous 'Moore's Law', one of the top chemists and scientists of the 20th century, in 1967.
Dr. Andrew Grove - Mr. Intel Grove developed a leadership style based on truth-telling. At a time when Intel was facing a crisis of mammoth proportions—triggered by Japanese inroads into the company's core market of memory chips in the mid 1980s—he discovered an under served market and rejuvenated the business. A decade later, confronted by another severe disaster involving a flaw in its Pentium microprocessors, Grove was forced to recognize how market conditions had changed. He was able to build the Intel brand (through the famous "Intel Inside" campaign) and used his savvy in managing risk to steer the company clear of antitrust regulators. Grove's experience shows that when faced with a challenge of such enormous magnitude, just being a truth teller may not be enough; it is equally important to be a fast learner, recognizing how the rules of the game have changed and adapting to the new realities. If we at MMG rate Intel as the most innovative company in the world, the credit goes to him.
Dr. Andrew Grove - The Writer Published his first book, Physics and Technology of Semiconductor Devices. It is still widely used in schools and colleges from 1967. His book, 'High Output Management' was published in 1983. The book has been translated into 11 languages. In 1996 he published 'Only the Paranoid Survive’: How to Survive the Crisis Points That Threaten Every Company. In this book, Grove explains his concept of strategic inflection points—make-or-break situations that bring about a sea change in an industry—with examples from Intel's experience. Forbes magazine called it "probably the best book on business written by a business person since Alfred Sloan's My Years with General Motors."
Summary & Conclusion Scientists & Engineers, by virtue of their training, have one basic drawback in their approach to human resources management. They are generally inflexible and see everything from an analytical, logical and rational point of view. They are mostly left brained. I am one of the rare breed of right brained engineers and never liked engineering anyway. If they are fighters, their basic instinct is to fight, based on facts and figures, but very few realize that such an approach can lead to PR disasters and/or misunderstandings. In life, truth telling, logic and rationality does not work all the time, though it should. It is very essential that leaders pursue interests in arts, history, literature, philosophy, psychology, theology and such subjects to understand how the human mind works. If I had my way, I would make all these subjects compulsory in business schools.
© Copyright, Written on May 29, 2008. Without prejudice. All rights reserved
Model of Business Leadership - Dr. Andrew (Andy) Grove - To learn more about this author, visit Madhavan T Gopalachary's Website.
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Madhavan T Gopalachary
(Visit Madhavan's Website)
Madhavan Gopalachary, nick name "madgopes"
(g pronounced as in go) given by IIT
classmates, is a Mechanical Engineer and
an alumnus of Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras having passed out
specializing in IC Engines &
Thermodynamics.
He has nearly 35 years of experience in
the Corporate World. He started off as a
trainee and handled sales, marketing,
manufacturing, product management, profit
center management, strategic planning and
corporate development including R & D in
various organizations and at various
levels before becoming a CEO. His last two
professional assignments were at CEO level
before embarking to start management
consultancy business on January 01, 1998.
He has worked for British, Swedish MNCs as
well as very large Indian business houses.
He has spent a large portion of his time
from June 1998 till date in East African
Countries practicing as an independent
Management Consultant.
More details can be obtained at the
following web sites:
mmg.name/
mtg.html
mmgconsu
lting.biz/
Madhavan's articles can be accessed at www.madgopes.com
.
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