The World's Best Book Summaries
What types of market disruptions warrant a large-scale response? How do you know when your business is at a strategic inflection point? Intel CEO Andrew Grove offers guidance on how to know when a change in your business environment requires an overhaul of your company. He recommends that you foster a continual culture of debating and listening. Read more to learn Grove’s advice on pivoting in business.
Does your business have a Plan B? Do you have a healthy “give-and-take” dynamic between upper and middle management? Adaptability is a competitive advantage. Intel CEO Andy Grove offers advice on how to build a flexible organization so that you stay ahead of the game. The keys, he says, are proactively investing in alternatives and cultivating a flexible business culture. Keep reading for Grove’s wisdom about adapting to change in the business environment.
What was Apple’s organizational culture like under Steve Jobs? How important was the culture at Apple? While Steve Jobs was CEO of Apple, he led the company with a strict hand. But it also inspired collaborative teamwork that kept the company successful. Read what Apple’s organizational culture was truly like with Jobs as CEO.
Is a market disruption headed your way? How can you tell? Intel’s Andrew Grove advises you to stay alert to potential market disruptions before they hit with full force. He discusses six potential sources of drastic change, and he advises how to keep tabs on them. Read more to learn how to see market disruptions on the horizon.
How can you choose advisors who will stay loyal to you? How much power should you give them? In The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli advises that princes should surround themselves with reliable advisors. He gives recommendations on where to find advisors and what the relationship with them should be like. Read more about Machiavelli’s discussion of political advisors below.
What are strategic inflection points? Is your business facing such a crisis? Drawing on his experience as the CEO of Intel, Andrew Grove provides clear guidance on preparing for, identifying, and adapting to the kinds of upheavals that send less agile companies out of business. He calls these crises “strategic inflection points.” Keep reading to learn what strategic inflection points are and how to determine whether your business has reached one.
What was Steve Jobs’s personality like? How did he treat his employees at Apple? Steve Jobs was one of the leading figures in electronics when he was alive. His biography by Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, claims this is because he was a strict and intense leader who strived for perfection. Learn more about Jobs’s determined personality below.
Could your company survive a major upheaval? How can you give it a better chance to weather the storms? Every company must navigate a changing business landscape, but not all changes are equal. Andrew Grove’s book Only the Paranoid Survive provides a practical guide for business leaders struggling to navigate a major disruption to their industry. Here’s our overview of the book’s principles and concrete advice.
What does Machiavelli mean by “virtú”? How does it differ from the modern understanding of virtue? In The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli sets forth several qualities that great princes (rulers) have. According to Machiavelli, virtú is the characteristic that stands above the rest. However, it doesn’t mean exactly what its apparent modern equivalent means. Keep reading to find out what virtú is to Machiavelli.
Why shouldn’t you start a business by yourself? What kind of partners should you look for? When it comes to starting a new business, entrepreneurs Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba advise against going it alone. They explain why you need partners and what kind of people you should add to your team. They say you should fill three roles: an innovator, a promoter, and a specialist. Keep reading for Ali and Kubba’s advice on how to build a startup team.