How Intel Got Out of the Memory Business
Gordon Moore and Andy Grove of Intel recently sat down with NPR to share their story of how they transformed Silicon Valley.
“We got to the point that electronics were going into almost all consumer items,” he says. “So, we had the feeling that this was the basic technology of some kind of a revolution.”
One day while sitting in their cubicles in 1985, Grove asked Moore a question:
“What would happen if somebody took us over, got rid of us — what would the new guy do?” he said.
“Get out of the memory business,” Moore answered.
At the time, Grove and Moore had no idea the personal computer would fuel Intel’s success. Soon after their conversation, the company laid off more than 7,000 employees for a new venture, which had been a side business. Intel, most notably known for their memory chips, was also the inventor of the industry’s first successful microprocessor. When Grove was appointed CEO of Intel in the late 1980s he refused to license Intel’s microprocessor to the computer industry and decided to be its sole manufacturer. Today Intel’s chips are in four out of five personal computers.
Intel’s rise in Silicon Valley was not a walk in the park. The company has been forced to continuously evolve its business practices in lieu of an exit strategy. There are two words that make Grove cringe: exit strategy.
According to the NPR, Grove says too many young tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists want to sell their companies or go public — get rich and get out.
“I really don’t have much respect for the people who live their lives motivated by an exit strategy existing, being performed,” he says. “There was no option that we were trained in that says, ‘If it gets too hard, get up and leave.”
Intel’s biggest accomplishment to day is that their company survived out of 50 other startups in the semiconductor industry, Moore says. “We’re about the only ones still around.”
Rise of the Global Entrepreneurial Class
We are part of the global entrepreneurial class, an identity that transgresses borders, nationalities, and religion. Entrepreneurs are a demographic, not a geographic, and their conspicuous creation is driving positive change in our world. Silicon Valley remains a bastion, and a gravitational force. But the walled gardens are withering, and the access class is becoming an asset class. Investors and entrepreneurs need a passport to the present.
Quiet Leaders Build Lasting Companies
“The US’s mood was at its most humble when its actual achievements were at their most extraordinary.” -David Brooks
Humility is not about being a martyr or abandoning one’s own interests, desires, and suppressing competitive drive. It’s not about shunning success, money, acclaim, and all the other good things that we work so hard to attain. Humility is, simply put, a state of mind that helps us achieve more, stay relevant, and keep that competitive edge razor sharp. If you want longevity, seek humility. Look at Warren Buffet or Cal Ripken Jr., two men of quiet confidence who have both outperformed and outlasted their colleagues. To be humble is to focus on action, not words; on results, not promises.
Being humble makes you a better businessperson. A study at Baylor University found that humility and honesty not only correspond with job performance, but it predicted job performance above and beyond any of the other five personality traits like agreeableness and conscientiousness. When you are humble you are more willing to listen to the ideas of others and more thorough when questioning your own. Intellectual curiosity is an active response to humility. Humility begets flexibility, enables you to back out of bad decisions before too much damage has been occurs, and helps you see the world as it is rather than as you want it to be.
So often in life, things that function best often go unnoticed. And so it goes with leadership. Just as great athletes and musicians make their feats of skill look effortless, true leaders make themselves inconspicuous, and their tremendous efforts and intricate plans seem inevitable. In the words of the Taoist sage Lao Tzu: “The great leader speaks little. He works without self-interest and leaves no trace. When all is finished, the people say: ‘we did it ourselves.’”
These are the kinds of people we invest in here at Collaborative Fund. A perfect example of quiet leadership is Tim Hyer from Rentcycle. I was reminded of this at Wednesday’s board meeting where he went over his company’s recent achievements and future goals. Despite the amazing progress Tim and his team have made over the past few months, they haven’t popped the Cristal just yet. Instead, Tim pushes ahead toward the next milestone with his head down, focused, humble, and driven. -Craig.
Text by Dan Zuckerman, Photo by skenmi
