Andrew grove explains the actions necessary to convert the threats of change into opportunities my book, only the paranoid survive, is really about navigating what i call the strategic inflection points. He writes when it happens, where it happens, and about how different industries and companies, including his own, reacted to strategic inflection points, or didnt recognize them at all. Andy grove, the former ceo of intel talks about the concept of a strategic inflection point in his book titled only the paranoid survive. Andrew grove calls such a moment a strategic inflection point, which can be set off by almost anything. Nonetheless, the above clarification and analysis are necessary if his expert views are to be folded into management theory. Yet, managed right, a strategic inflection point can be an opportunity. Strategic inflection point an inflection point, mathematically, is when the slope of a curve changes sign, for instance, from negative to positive.
Strategically, an inflection point occurs when the old strategic picture dissolves, and gives way to the new, allowing a business to soar to new heights. A life cycle curve with an inflection point indicating the success top curve or failure bottom curve of a product revitalization. Inflection points can be a result of action taken by a company, or through actions taken by another entity, that has a direct impact on the company. What do you do when industry dynamics fundamentally change. He is acutely sensitive to the way his strategic inflection points can work silently and invasively. Challenging every company and career, on september 25th, 1996. Strategic inflection points happen all the time robert h.
Grove experienced several strategic inflection points at intel. According to the author, strategic inflection point is the period of the fundamentals of the life of the business that were about to change. Strategic inflection points can occur suddenly or more subtle, in the form of sustained, steady growth that increasingly weighs down on existing infrastructure and staff it occurs when the old strategic picture dissolves cease to be valid and gives way to new directions. They can be set off by almost anything by mega competition, an arcane change in regulations, or by a seemingly modest change in technology. Sixteen years ago, andrew grove introduced the business community to something called a strategic inflection point. Major change in the world is creeping up on them, and theyre not taking.
In his bestselling book, only the paranoid survive, grove described strategic. Navigating strategic inflection points london business. Strategic inflection points sips are caused by changes in fundamental industry dynamics, winning strategies, and dominant technologies. What it takes to accelerate through a strategic inflection point.
The person who is the star of previous era is often the last one to adapt to change, the last one to yield to logic of a strategic inflection point and tends to fall harder than most. Andrew grove may well have intended for strategic inflection point to mean something distinct from mathematical inflection point. Andrew grove, strategic inflection points 1996 mit industry leaders program lecture semiconductor industry pioneer andrew grove presents a talk at mit titled exploiting the crisis points. As per andrew grove s book only the paranoid survive, a strategic inflection point is when the balance of forces shifts from the old business structure, from the old ways of doing business and the old ways of competing. Strategic inflection points in only the paranoid survive, andrew grove, the former ceo of intel, discusses strategic inflection points times when an industrys fundamentals change significantly. Only the paranoids survive by andrew grove abm executives. So long as these things stay in balance, you will go along a steady course. Andrew grove, strategic inflection points 1996 mit. Strategic inflection points andy grove, intels cofounder, also. Wholesale distribution disrupted andrew grove, the iconic ceo of intel, expounded on strategic inflection points in his book, only the paranoid survive, published in 1996. There are lots of people who have spent decades honing a skill. Strategic inflection points andy grove, intels cofounder, also described a strategic inflection point as an event that changes the way we think and act. Intel had hit upon what burgelman and grove call a strategic inflection point, the point where industry dynamics fundamentally change. As paraphrased by grove based on the work of michael porter of harvard university.
As per andrew grove s book only the paranoid survive, a strategic inflection point is when the balance of forces shifts from the old business structure, from the old ways of doing business. For reasons that i could never understand, my publisher was less than jazzed about calling a book strategic inflection points. Only the paranoid survive by andrew s grove revised may. Grove, 71, coined the metaphor strategic inflection point to describe the moment when an industry or company changes its trajectory. He is acutely sensitive to the way his strategic inflection points can work. Grove a strategic inflection point is a time in the life of business when its fundamentals are about to change. And he has a feeling for how to manage cultural moments, as he demonstrated with his what if scenario with moore. Grove calls such moments strategic inflection points sips, and he has lived through several. Strategic inflection points are events that fundamentally alter the nature of a business or profoundly change the rules of the game. Andy grove and the mysteries of the inflection point. Inflection points can be a result of action taken by a company, or through actions taken by another entity, that has a. Only the paranoid survive 1999 presents the experiences and invaluable advice of one of the most admired and successful ceos of recent times. Semiconductor industry pioneer andrew grove presents a talk at mit titled exploiting the crisis points.
Grove was one of the most influential figures in technology and business, writing bestselling books and widely cited articles. When a strategic inflection point hits, the ordinary rules of. An inflection point, in general, is a decisive moment in the course of some entity, event or situation that marks the start of significant change. This point of dramatic change in the industry is known as strategic inflection point. In the early 1990s, andy grove, who was then ceo of intel, coined the term strategic inflection point to underline the importance of business leaders taking. Andy grove and gordon moore are sitting in groves office at intel. Only the paranoid survive critique huzefa mun noris. The word that keeps repeating in the book is the strategic inflection point. This book made andrew grove the time magazine man of the year in the year 1997. A strategic inflection point is that which causes you to make a fundamental change in business strategy. Only the paranoid survive south jersey regional library.
When one of these forces changes, it changes the dynamics of the business. Grove chairman of the board, intel corporation san diego, calif. At that time, the leaders must give up the past, see closely how the industry is evolving and find new ways of competing. Is it time for an inflection point in neurological research. Grove calls such a moment a strategic inflection point, which can be set off by. In 1988, andrew grove, the founder and former ceo of the american chipmanufacturing giant intel, wrote a book titled only the paranoid survive, in which he floated the concept of the strategic inflection point.
A strategic inflection point can best be described. The two, who have been collaborating on research work since 1989 and teaching a course together since 1992, are describing the crucial turning points that companies in the turbulent hightech industry will almost inevitably face. Wisconsin plan wins in court, and a new program gives scholarships to poor kids. Strategic dissonance stanford graduate school of business. A large change, with a 10x force, can cause you to loose control of your destiny.
When a strategic inflection point hits, the ordinary rules of business go out the window. In his book, only the paranoid survive, intels andrew grove describes the importance of strategic inflection points as both historical and mindchanging. Andy grove and the mysteries of the inflection point cultureby. A strategic inflection point is a time period when an organization must respond to disruptive change in the business environment effectively or face deterioration. Being an engineer, forgive me if i like to describe this with a set of curves.
Strategic inflection points apply to individuals, too. Strategic inflection points events that changes the way. He sees it here in the corporation culture that constrains the senior manager. How stealth buyers change the rules for b2b demand. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. Pdf we examine whether the strategic inflection points described by former intel ceo andy grove correspond to mathematical inflection.
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