This work offers a summary of the book “INSIDE INTEL: How Andy Grove Built the World’s Most Successful Chip Company” by Tim Jackson.
The founders of Intel, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, raised $2.3 million in one afternoon, on the strength of their reputations alone. Their business plan was vague, but they knew their goal: to develop and build memory devices for computers using the new semiconductor devices, built from silicon chips.
Tim Jackson tells their compelling story, and analyzes why their business decisions were so effective. Intel’s early success was based on three things: expertise, persistence and hiring the right people. Its technological prowess received praise, and its employee management was also admired; budgets were tightly controlled, and intricately planned; every employee had a written set of objectives and key results which were rigorously followed up on. They worked until short timeframes, to ensure that no one got distracted from goals. When their first competition emerged, Toyota, they devised a ruthless plan to differentiate them and regain market dominance.
As time went on, Intel executives were adept at developing the most profitable sectors of the business, and making partnerships that would extend their market. They survived their biggest crisis, the flaw in the Pentium chip, and are still a massive player in the market.
Anyone interested in smart business practices will find this book utterly engrossing.