Only The Paranoid Survive

By: Andy Grove

Finished: 2/17/2024

What’s it about:  in short, strategic inflection points in business.  A change that is a “10x” change from the way business used to be done.  Examples would be electricity for lamp lighters, the internet for telecommunications companies, and maybe electric vehicles for the auto industry.  In essence, something that will fundamentally disrupt and turn the table over for all the businesses involved.  

Main takeaway:  Try not to let it be you whose business is turned over in the 10x change! Easier said than done. 

Primary takeaways are:

1).  If you work long enough, a strategic inflection point will hit you.  How you manage it will determine the “new world order” of your industry. 

2).  Noticing when the point is upon you is extremely important.  Acting at the right time is additionally important.  A great way to do this is listen to the people on the front lines, middle managers, and sales people.  They usually are the first to know change is afoot. 

3). Note the 6 forces of change:

Power of existing competitors 

Power of complementors

Power of customers 

Power of suppliers 

Power of potential competitors 

Possibility that your business can be done a different way 

4).  Try to differentiate between signal and noise.  Do not burry your head in the sand and assume the way you always did it is the correct way.  Study changes intently (this is the primary job of leadership. Encourage debate about the company.  Don’t be too too down, but don’t be too bottom up either.  

5).  Let chaos reign (sometimes).  Don’t be so rigid that you never allow for a change in business.  Then give VERY clear signs of direction to your team.  DON’T JUST TALK ABOUT IT, redeploy resources.