Average customer rating:
- Biography misses the Mork.
- A Very Vanilla Biography
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The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography
Jay David
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
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Similar Items:
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Robin Williams: A Biography
-
The Robin Williams Scrapbook
-
Robin Williams - Live on Broadway
ASIN: 0688152457 |
Book Description
Ever since his days as "Mork" on Mork and Mindy, Robin Williams has captivated the hearts and funny bones of audiences everywhere. No one will forget his performances in such classics as Good Morning Vietnam, Awakenings, and Dead Poets Society, or his hilarious roles as the nanny in Mrs. Doubtfire and as the zany doctor in Patch Adams.
The Life and Humor of Robin Williams offers his millions of fans a lively, thorough account of Robin Williams's life and career. Chronicling the early years, from his supportive Chicago childhood to his first college improv class, the book goes on to describe the actor's rapid descent into Hollywood's fast lane. But Williams cleaned up his life and made a breakthrough into serious acting with his extraordinary performance in The World According to Garp and the steady climb ever since to his more recent, Oscar-winning triumph in Good Will Hunting.
For the countless fans of Robin Williams, this biography is a fascinating and comprehensive look at the star's inspiring history.
Customer Reviews:
Biography misses the Mork........2007-08-16
A 2007 summer reading list mini review.
I have been an ardent fan of the humor of Robin Williams equal parts manic and cerebral since his debut on Happy Days some 30 years ago. So, when I saw this book at my local library, I checked it out thinking that I would be treated to some of his crazier routines like this one from Mork and Mindy:
Mork: (reporting to Orson) They even have a religion that worships O.J. Simpson.
Orson: The Juice?
Mork: Yeah, and the gentiles too.
What I got instead was a biography that after a good glimpse of his childhood years focused too much on the obvious and also on unneeded periphery from his work.
Examples of this are an approximately two page plot synopsis of Mrs. Doubtfire, and a penchant from listing at least 3 other films for each director Williams ever worked with. Aside from unnecessary, some of the periphery is also inaccurate. When speaking of the immense popularity of Happy Days the author tells us that Laverne and Shirley ran for 4 seasons, it ran for 8.
I will have to give the author, Jay David, some credit. It takes a certain kind of talent to write about such a colorful figure as Williams and make it come out dry.
A Very Vanilla Biography.......2004-03-14
It is difficult to write a biography that only goes for 200 pages unless it is the Reader's Digest version of the person's life. Jay David essentially has written a stripped down biography of Robin Williams. After reading the book, I feel I have only scratched the surface of this talented actor/comedian's life and talents.
Much of Robin's early life is cited from previous interviews with other sources. While this is acceptable, it makes the early part of the book seem like a "cut and paste" job. The book journeys into his early career and family life with similar techniques. When the book arrives at the point where Robin Williams' career really takes off, the author becomes consistent with the layout of the chapters. The first part is how Williams came to work on the movie/project with various antidotes. The second part of the chapters is a documentation of the critical reviews of the movie. I felt a lot was omitted from the book. Nothing is mentioned about his hosting Saturday Night Live. Similary, little is mentioned of his stand-up work or Comic Relief. I would have thought they would have included more of Robin Williams' humor in here since the book is called "The Life and Humor of Robin Williams".
The book does have strong points. I did learn about Williams family and marital life. Few people are aware that Williams came from a privilaged family background. I also believe that the insight provided on many of the movies is well documented. One must keep in mind that the book was printed in 1999 so it is not entirely up to date. With this being said, fans of Williams will enjoy learning about the development of his career. Despite being an easy read, the book has too many weak points to be enjoyed by the casual reader.
Book Description
This is the story of how the Steinway piano came to be the instrument of choice for the world's greatest pianists. In 1953, Theodore Steinway wrote this narrative in longhand on yellow legal pads as a tribute to his father and to commemorate the first 100 years of Steinway and Sons. The book was a memento for employees and was never released to the public. This revised edition brings the history of this remarkable company to the present day through recollections of Henry E. Steinway, the last family member to remain involved with the company, and Peter Goodrich, vice president of concert and artist relations, who has been with the company for 30 years. In 1850, Henry Engelhard Steinway left Germany for New York City and established what was to become the standard of excellence in the piano world. Using photographs and anecdotes, this book chronicles the business from its beginnings through the Depression, when many piano manufacturers went out of business, through World War II, when the company was forbidden to make pianos, and through the advent of modern technology. Through it all the Steinway piano has prevailed as a symbol of quality. The Steinway artist roster is a living tribute to the company and its pianos. More than 1300 performers have publicly endorsed the Steinway because they believe in the quality of the instrument and will only play and perform on a Steinway.
Customer Reviews:
An interesting scrapbook of Steinway.......2007-05-12
Relatively recently updated, this book is a brief and sugar coated, but very interesting history of the Steinway & Sons company, arguably manufacturer of the finest pianos in the world. The black and white photos (not terribly well reproduced) give a sort of scrapbook character to the piece.
For the piano officianado who appreciates the character of a Steinway, it is a nice little history of the Company.
history of the Steinway piano and the companyy that made it.......2005-11-14
This is a reprinting of the book written by Theodore Steinway on legal pads that in 1953 was given to Steinway and Sons employees as a commemoration of the company's one hundredth anniversary in the U.S. The original book was reprinted in 1961 with minor additions. This reprinting expands the earlier limited-printing editions with a 40-page section with material by Henry Steinway and the president of Steinway and Sons Bruce Stevens recounting the history of the company over the last 50 years. Both old and new parts are heavily illustrated with photographs of noteworthy individuals and Steinway pianos from different eras. Readers learn why and how the Steinway piano came to be and continues to be the preferred piano by almost every top music performer and composer around the world.
A remarkable narrative, especially recommended for piano enthusiasts.......2005-11-06
First written in 1953, People And Pianos is a chronicle of the history of Steinway & Sons, an institution famous for creating great pianos. The original edition was a memento to commemorate the company's 100-year anniversary; now a new edition is made available to the public, filled cover-to-cover with vintage black-and-white photographs and illustrations as well as an update by Bruce Stevens that continues the saga of Steinway & Sons to the present day. Personal reminiscences on maestros such as Ignace Jan Paderewski, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Josef Hofmann, Glenn Gould, Rudolf Serkin, Dame Myra Hess, and Arthur Rubinstein by Henry Z. Steinway, the last family member to be involved in the business, are included. A remarkable narrative, especially recommended for piano enthusiasts interested in knowing the inner details of an institution that took upon itself the task of creating great and complex musical instruments.
Book Description
The first book based on the rich archive of Steinway business and family papers at LaGuardia Community College in New York, as well as on interviews with family members and company employees in the United States, Germany, and England, this authoritative and entertaining book tells the story of the most famous piano company in the world and of the family behind it.
Customer Reviews:
The best book on Steinway's history and its pianos.......2000-09-07
Lieberman is the director of the archives that house the Steinway collection, and writes as a knowledgeable insider. The history of the family and its pianos is told, from its beginnings in Germany, up through the sale to CBS and the Birminghams (the sale to the Selmer Company in 1995 happened after the publication of the book.) As a bonus, there's a great history of Yamaha pianos and its fierce competition with Steinway. It's well-written and there are numerous photos.
This is great reading, and a wonderful resouce for anyone interested in music or pianos.
See below.......1999-10-07
About a month ago, I wrote a reader's comment on Richard Lieberman's "Steinway and Sons," carefully following your guidelines. To date, that piece has not been posted; nor have I received any message explaining that it would not be posted. Please advise. Sincerely, Brian Gallagher (gallb@aol.com)
An engaging and insightful book!.......1999-08-12
Mr. Lieberman provides a captivating glimpse into one of America's oldest family run businesses. Based upon meticulous research, the reader is introduced to a family that essentially defined our cultural heritage. From the family patriarch's pre-civil war immigration to the present, we watch as this family courses its way through America's turbulent past. No only does this book expose the electic (and even dysfunctional) mix of characters so common in family owned businesses, but it also provides an intimate perspective of how this business survived the challenges of the civil war, industrialization, World Wars I & II, the depression, unionization, and finally, the global economy. Along the way, the reader learns how these defining historical events also created significant shifts in American ideals and culture. For those of you who enjoy "hands-on history," you'll find this book truly rewarding!
Steinwway & Sons is a superb family and social history........1999-03-29
Steinway & Sons is a rich, absorbing history of a business dynasty that stayed vital over six generations. Lieberman astutely analyzes the twin forces of creativity and hard-nosed business sense that made and sustained Steinway's preeminence as the concert piano of choice. This richly anecdotal book does not shy away from the dark side of the family's history-- its contempt for the piano workers, its unthinking patriarchy, even its active cultivation of the Nazis in Germany during World War II. (In America Steinway emphasized its patriotism by draping its conert hall with American flags and publicizing the Steinway sons who were serving in the American armed forces.) In this balanced account, Lieberman takes pains to catalogue the family's numerous contributions to the conert piano's evolution, as well as its unceasing promotion of the finest artists. The Steinways' mixture of creative technical innovation, fine musical taste and ruthless business practices makes them a family of particular fascination. Lieberman brings the various figures, strong and weak and flawed, to vibrant life.
This book is an absorbing social history of our times.......1999-03-17
Lieberman's book is a wonderful and absorbing social history of our times disguised as a family history. The book covers a journey which begins in the 1850s and ends in the 1980s when this manufacturer of exquisite pianos was sold to a larger corporate entity, CBS. The story reads like a novel because it is a dramatic family and corporate tale that unfolds as you read.
Product Description
Letters to Steinway and Sons from notable musicians of late 1800s & early 1900s, with their portraits.
Average customer rating:
- A good addition to your music library
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Steinway: From Glory to Controversy : The Family, the Business, the Piano
Susan Goldenberg
Manufacturer: Mosaic Press (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0889626073 |
Customer Reviews:
A good addition to your music library.......2000-09-07
The title of this book, "From Glory to Controversy" led me to approach it with some caution, but it's actually a well-balanced overview of the family and its pianos. It's a little on the short side (222 pages, in rather large print) and the few photos are of poor quality.
If you're interested in Steinway pianos, get "Steinway and Sons" by Richard K Lieberman (1995). But this one makes a good supplement.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Music Trades, published by Music Trades Corp. on January 1, 1992. The length of the article is 1039 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Boston piano makes it debut. (Boston Piano Co. is established as an independent subsidiary of Steinway Musical Properties Inc. and a sister company of Steinway & Sons Inc.)
Publication:
Music Trades (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1992
Publisher: Music Trades Corp.
Volume: v139
Issue: n12
Page: p122(3)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Chief Executive (U.S.), published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2006. The length of the article is 740 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Defending a brand isn't easy: even when the brand is Steinway.(ROUNDTABLE)(Steinway and Sons)(Discussion)
Author: Fred Mackerodt
Publication:
Chief Executive (U.S.) (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 217
Page: 54(2)
Article Type: Discussion
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Music Trades, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2005. The length of the article is 2390 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Happy Birthday Henry! Marking his 90th birthday, Henry Z. Steinway, great-grandson of Steinway & Sons' founder, continues to be the piano industry's most able ambassador. But don't be fooled by the low-key manner. The ever-affable "two-legged Steinway" is the one who took the tough steps to pull the renowned piano maker back from the brink.(THE PIANO MAN)(Company Profile)
Publication:
Music Trades (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 153
Issue: 9
Page: 84(7)
Article Type: Company Profile
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- Not National Mah Jongg League (USA)
- Beginners guide to Mahjongg
- Good introduction to the game
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Mah-Jongg: Basic Rules & Strategies
Dieter Kohnen
Manufacturer: Sterling
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Binding: Paperback
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The Game of Mah Jong Illustrated
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A Mah Jong Handbook: How to Play, Score, and Win
ASIN: 0806907525 |
Book Description
The "Bird of 100 intelligences"--that's what mah-jong means in Chinese, and if you want to find out why so many millions of people have become enchanted by the game for so many thousands of years, this colorful guide is the next best thing to having the mythical creature perched on your shoulder telling you its secrets. It's a quick game to learn and fast-paced to play. You get a quick introduction to the tiles and sticks, including the Circles (or dots), Characters (or cracks), Winds, and Honors. The basic moves are clearly explained and shown, with practice games that take you step-by-step through the opening moves, the middle strategies, combinations, and sequences, and the endgame. Special tips and shortcuts show you how to assemble your tiles into winning complete sets, with moves that would take years to learn by trial and error. You also learn 24 different variations and versions with colorful names like the Twins of Heaven, the Twins of Hell, the Green Hand, the Nine Lanterns, the Dragon, and three Japanese-style games. (Best of all, you'll learn that strange "bird's 100 intelligences" along the way.) Sterling 64 pages (all in 2-color), 6 5/8 x 8 3/4.
Customer Reviews:
Not National Mah Jongg League (USA).......2002-04-17
To quote from page 6 in the book, "Rules and strategies for a so-called mixed-hand variation of traditional Mah-Jongg are presented here."
Those who are playing with the 2002 card in the National League will not find much help in rules or strategies.
Beginners guide to Mahjongg.......2002-02-15
After reading many rules of play and buying several books, in and out of print, on the subject, I found this the best for the novice to the game. It is easily read and followed. I recommend it to those wanting to learn to play.
Good introduction to the game.......1998-10-30
I bought this book hoping that it would cover the Chinese rules of Mah-Jongg, which I am trying to learn. It does, though it calls the game "traditional" Mah-Jongg. I haven't yet had time to sit down and really set out to learn the game, but this book looks like the way to do it. It has ample illustrations and goes step by step through a couple of games, giving examples on strategies.
All told, a solid buy.
Book Description
Under Andy Grove's leadership, Intel has become the world's largest chip maker and one of the most admired companies in the world. In
Only the Paranoid Survive, Grove reveals his strategy of focusing on a new way of measuring the nightmare moment every leader dreads--when massive change occurs and a company must, virtually overnight, adapt or fall by the wayside.
Grove calls such a moment a Strategic Inflection Point, which can be set off by almost anything: mega-competition, a change in regulations, or a seemingly modest change in technology. When a Strategic Inflection Point hits, the ordinary rules of business go out the window. Yet, managed right, a Strategic Inflection Point can be an opportunity to win in the marketplace and emerge stronger than ever.
Grove underscores his message by examining his own record of success and failure, including how he navigated the events of the Pentium flaw, which threatened Intel's reputation in 1994, and how he has dealt with the explosions in growth of the Internet. The work of a lifetime,
Only the Paranoid Survive is a classic of managerial and leadership skills.
The Currency Paperback edition of
Only the Paranoid Survive includes a new chapter about the impact of strategic inflection points on individual careers--how to predict them and how to benefit from them.
Customer Reviews:
Enriching Personal Real-Life Account by Someone Who Had Managed a Mega-Size Corporation!!! .......2007-03-20
The real value of this book is that it is written by someone, Andrew Grove, who has actual experiences and managed a start-up right up to a mega successful corporation. There are tons of management and marketing books written by people, based on case-studies and analysis, but lack actual experiences managing or working in a corporation.
The main concept of this book is on strategic inflection point, which is a time in the life of the business when its fundamentals are about to change. This change can either infer an opportunity to rise to new heights or signal the beginning of the end. Hence, this book is about the impact of changing rules, guidelines to assist in identifying those situations and about finding your way through those uncharted territories. This book serves to raise our awareness of going through cataclysmic changes and to provide a framework in which to deal with them.
This book uses Porter's competitive analysis strategy in terms of the 6 forces as a base. The 6 forces are
1. Power, vigor and competence of existing competitors
2. Power, vigor and competence of complementors
3. Power, vigor and competence of customers
4. Power, vigor and competence of suppliers
5. Power, vigor and competence of potential competitors
6. Power, vigor and competence of substitutes
Once a very large change happens in one or several of these 6 forces, a "10X" force is in effect. Very often the transition from a normal business environment to that of a "10X" business environment is very gradual and thus, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact time in which the "10X" force came about. Strategic inflection point comes about when this balance of forces shifts from the normal environment to that of the new "10X" environment and it is difficult to pinpoint its exact occurrence.
The circumstances that help to identify this strategic inflection point are
1. Presence of troubling sense that something is different such as changes in customers' attitudes, entrant of new competitors, etc.
2. Growing dissonance or misalignment between corporate statements and operation actions.
3. Emergence of new framework or actions.
4. New set of corporate statements is generated.
Andrew gave an analogy of working your way though a strategic inflection point to be just like venturing into the valley of death, the perilous transition between the old and the new environments. It is difficult to know the right moment to execute the appropriate actions. Since timing is everything, it is attractive to undertake these changes when the company is in a healthy financial state. This means "acting when not everything is known, when the data aren't in.", merely relying on "instinct and personal judgments" (Chapt 2). Hence it is a matter of training your instincts to pick up a different set of signals.
The only way we know whether a change signals a strategic inflection point is through the process of clarification that comes from broad and intensive debate. This debate should involve technical discussions, marketing discussions and considerations of strategic repercussions (how will it affect our business if we make a dramatic move; how will it affect if we don't?). The more complex the issues are, the more levels of management should be involved because people from different levels of management bring completely different points of view and expertise. The debate should involve people from outside the company, customers and partners with different areas of expertise and interests. When dealing with emerging trends, you may very well have to go against rational extrapolation of data and rely instead on anecdotal observations and your instincts. (chapter 6). Constructively debating tough issues and getting somewhere is only possible when people can speak their minds without fear of punishment.
Andrew offers a few guidelines to discern "signal" from "noise"
1. Is your key competitor about to change? Suggested using the "silver bullet test": If you had just one bullet, whom among your many competitors would you save it for? When the answer to this question stops being as crystal clear, it is time to sit up and pay special attention.
2. Is your key complementor about to change? Does the company that in the past years mattered the most to your business seem less important today? Does it look like another company is about to eclipse them? If so, it may be a sign of shifting industry dynamics.
3. Does it seem that people who for years had been very competent have suddenly gotten decoupled from what really matters? If key aspects of the business shift around us, the very process that got us where we were might retard your ability to recognize the new trends.
Generally you cannot judge the significance of the strategic inflection point by the quality of the first version or release of the product. You will need to draw on your experiences to discern its possible impacts.
Strategic dissonance is the divergence between actions and statements; saying one thing and doing another. Strategic dissonance is an automatic reaction to a strategic inflection point that probing for it is perhaps the best test of one.
Clarity of direction, which includes describing what we are going after, as well as, describing what we will not be going after, is exceedingly important at the late stage of a strategic transformation. This book defines strategic plans as statements of what we intend to do, whereas strategic actions as steps we have already taken or are taking. Strategic plans are abstract and are usually couched in language meant for the company's management. Strategic actions matter because they immediately affect people's lives. The most effective way to transform a company is through a series of incremental changes that are consistent with a clearly articulated end result.
This book mentions the "Taillight" approach - some companies may profitably wait for others to test the limits of technological possibilities or market acceptance and then commit to following, catching up and passing them.
A question that often comes up at times of strategic transformation is whether you should pursue a highly focused approach, betting everything on one strategic goal or should you hedge. It takes every erg of energy in your organization to do a good job pursuing one strategic aim, especially in the face of aggressive and competent competition. It is hard to lead the organization out of the valley of death without a clear and simple strategic direction. Demoralized organizations are unlikely to be able to deal with multiple objectives. Thus, hedging is expensive and dilutes commitment, and is not recommended.
"Most companies don't die because they are wrong; most die because they don't commit themselves... The greatest danger is in standing still" (Chapter 8).
The leader needs to show interest in the elements leading to the strategic direction, by getting involved in details that are appropriate to the new direction and by withdrawing attention, energy and involvement from those things that do not fit. At times like this, the calendar is the most important strategic tools in communication. Andrew emphasizes that communicating strategic change in an interactive exposed fashion is important and necessary such as corporate email announcements and meetings, etc.
Companies that successfully navigate through strategic inflection points tend to have a good dialectic between bottom-up and top-down actions. Bottom-up actions come from the ranks of middle managers, who by the nature of their jobs are exposed to the first whiffs of the winds of change, who are located at the peripheral of the action where change is first perceived and who catch on early. But by the nature of their work, they can only affect things locally. Their actions must meet halfway the actions generated by senior management. While those managers are isolated from the winds of change, but once they commit themselves to a new direction, they can affect the strategy of the entire organization. The best results seem to prevail when bottom-up and top-down actions are equally strong. When the top management lets go a little, the bottom-up actions will drive towards chaos by experimenting, by pursuing different product strategies, by generally pulling the company in a multiplicity of directions. After such creative chaos reigns and a direction becomes clear, it is up to senior management to reign in chaos. A pendulum-like swing between the 2 types of actions is the best way to work your way through a strategic transformation. What is needed is a balanced interaction between the middle managers, with their deep knowledge but narrow focus and senior management, whose larger perspective could set a context.
An organization that has a culture that can deal with these 2 phases - debate (chaos reign) and a determined march (chaos reined in) is a powerful, adaptive organization. Such an organization has 2 important attributes:
1. It tolerates and even encourages debates. These debates are vigorous, devoted to exploring issues, indifferent to rank and include individuals of varied backgrounds.
2. It is capable of making and accepting clear decisions, with the entire organization then supporting the decision.
This book emphasizes on the concepts by reliving a few of Intel's crisis; the mid-80s shift from memory to microprocessors business, RISC vs CISC architecture and during the fall of 1994 the floating point bug associated with Intel's flagship device; the Pentium processor. The magnitude of this crisis is so significant in that a tiny flaw in the microprocessor's floating point unit could mushroom into half a billion dollars' worth of damage in less than 6 weeks. This was later narrowed down to 2 key factors. First the success of Intel's merchandising "Intel Inside" program, which has projected a strong Intel image right to the end-user, became a double-edge sword in that end users directly contact Intel for a replacement microprocessor. In a normal incidence, it is likely to be the computer manufacturers who will perform the recall and replacement. But Intel's identity is so strong with the end-users that they became the ones asking for a recall and replacement. Second, the other factor is attributed to Intel's sheer size. Intel had become gigantic in the eyes of the computer buyers. And thus the huge cost in replacement.
This book also relates the transition of the computer industry in the 80s vertical alignment to that in the 90s; the horizontal alignment. This came about with the appearance of the microprocessor and then the personal computer. The "10X" force came about when the technology permitted the integration of several chips into one single chip and this same microprocessor enabled the production of all kinds of personal computers. As the microprocessor became the basic building block, economics of mass production worked its charm giving extremely cost-effective PCs. Over time, this changed the entire structure of the industry and a new horizontal industry emerged. As a result of this trend, companies previously successful in the vertical alignment, but who failed to adapt or recognize this "10X" force failed and no longer existed today. Examples are Wang and Cray. At the same time, this change also spelled opportunities for new entrants such as Dell and Compaq. Thus when an industry goes through a strategic inflection point, the practitioners of the old industry may have trouble, while on the other hand, this new environment provides opportunities for new entrants into this industry.
The key characteristics of horizontal industries is that they live and die by mass production and mass marketing, bringing cost-effective solutions and more specialization, i.e the best in class for that particular market segment such as TV monitors, memory, storage devices, etc.
The new rules of the horizontal industry are
1. Do not differentiate without a difference. Do not introduce improvements whose only purpose is to give you an advantage over your competitor without giving your customer a substantial advantage. Example is a "better PC" departed from the mainstream standard and hence giving rise to software incompatibility.
2. Grab opportunity when there is a technology break or change coming along.
3. Price for what the market will bear. Price for volume. Work like the devil on your costs so that it becomes profitable. This leads to economies of scale whereby by being a large-volume supplier, you can spread and recoup those costs. In contrast, cost-based pricing will often lead you into a niche position.
To be a leader or survivor in a horizontal and commoditized industry, this book provides some food for thought. A prime example is Intel exiting the commoditized memory industry in which they were once in the lead, until the entrance of the Japanese manufacturers.
Rhetoric and boring!.......2007-01-11
This book is rhetoric and boring with a few examples of successful and unsuccessful ventures so I started reading about Grove and his background.
The influence of communism in his early years seems to have put Grove in the paranoia groove. The culture of paranoia is clearly seen in Intel's business today- slow decision making, trust issues with employees and even customers!
Hire and fire culture has made the remaining employees work the system to `survive' rather than innovate and thrive.
Compare and contrast this Apple or for that matter even AMD and you will realize these companies are more in tune with their customers and employees (and hence their stock holders) in terms of basic trust.
We are not in a communist environment anymore. By being paranoid Grove's Intel has proved, you can only survive and barely at that.
Only for business managers?.......2006-08-28
Contrary to popular opinion on this website, I found this book to be boring, repetitive and badly written. It was so boring I struggled to finish it during a journey where I had little else to do. This book summarizes a few events that were significant to Intel and offers advice on how similar business changes should be handled. Being an engineer, and not a manager, I found this to be vague and rambling. However I do agree with the book's title - Only the Paranoid survive. I think this outlook is useful for everyone, and not just business types.
Lengthy Writing.......2006-01-27
I picked up this book after seeing some good reviews about it.
The whole book is about "Strategic Reflection Point".
I was disappointed that Andy Grove didn't try to explain SRP in a more concrete manner. After finishing the book, I still have very vague & abstract knowledge on SRP.
Nevertheless, Andy Grove is still one of the best CEOs I admired.
How to survive in the new economy.......2006-01-22
This a good book based on facts. Andrew Grove goes on describing how Intel managed to shift from a semiconductor to the microprocessor company while he was the CEO... (now it is shifting again under Paul Otellini).
Although the example a bit outdated since it was written in 1996, the same principles still apply. A must read if you want to understand why some great and big companies suddenly go down while others emerge quickly.
You always need to learn the history to understand the future.
Amazon.com
Massive change is hitting corporate America at a furious and escalating pace, writes Andrew Grove in
Only the Paranoid Survive, and businesses that strive hard to keep abreast of the transition will be the only ones that prevail. And Grove should know. As chief executive of Intel, he wrestled with one of the business world's great challenges in 1994 when a flaw in his company's new cornerstone product -- the Pentium processor -- grew into a front-page controversy that seriously threatened its future.
Book Description
Under Andy Grove's leadership, Intel has become the world's largest chipmaker, the fifth-most-admired company in America, and the seventh-most-profitable company among the Fortune 500. You don't achieve rankings like these unless you have mastered a rare understanding of the art of
business and an unusual way with its practice.
Few CEOs can claim this level of consistent record-breaking success. Grove attributes much of this success to the philosophy and strategy he reveals in
Only the Paranoid Survive--a book that is unique in leadership annals for offering a bold new business measure, and for taking the reader deep inside the workings of a major corporation.
Download Description
The founder of Intel, Andrew Grove is one of the great business leaders of our time--and 1997 "Time" magazine Man of the Year. Under Andrew Grove's leadership, Intel has become the world's largest chip maker and one of the most admired companies in the world.
Customer Reviews:
Waste Of Time.......2005-11-25
This is by far the worst business book I have read in recent years. It is hard to believe that Andy Grove actually thought that this material was worth putting into a book. As other reviews have said, this book at most should have been a short article in Business Week...but even then it would require some actual content to make it worth reading. The best part of the book is the quotes on the cover from Steve Jobs et al. It makes me wonder if they even read the book.
save several valuable hours of your life- skip this book.......2005-10-19
Maybe I haven't read enough "management" books (though I do have an MBA), but if this is considered "great" for this genre- WOW. This entire book could have been summed up in a couple pages without losing any major points, but I guess you can't have a bestseller that way! One reviewer said it was too technical. Are you living in a cave? I found it condescendingly written- absurdly simple and dumbed down. Granted, it's over a decade old, but I doubt everyone was really that much stupider ten years ago.
All Fear the Status Quo.......2000-07-20
Andy Grove has verbalized the mindset that we must all develop to survive in the 21st Century. While his idea of constantly looking over your shoulder has always been applicable, the speed of the Internet economy requires that we do it much more frequently and penalizes us much more quickly if we do not.
Grove does a great job of showing how one man's crises is another's opporuntity and uses the term strategic inflection points to describe these periods of 10x change.
This book is a good reminder for anyone who thinks that what made them successful to this point is any guarantee that they will be successful in the future.
Nothing new here.......2000-07-07
This is something that any first year business student could have written. It is a fast read but it provides no new insights.
Want to be a great manager - Go to West Point.......1999-12-02
I was very dissapointed by this book as a lesson in management. The lessons learned are basic management and military strategy that every CEO should now. i.e. Basic lessons from the book: include understanding the nature of the battlefield (6 forces that affect business), recognizing change (strategic intelligence), listening to the troops in the field, making sure you're not insulated from the bad news, seperate the noise from real intelligence, have the courage to make changes, issue clear orders, re-evaluate and adjust as conditions change, be prepared to replace the top management (not for incompetence, but to get fresh perspectives (change the old guard and the old ways of doing things), Realize that your company runs on the quality of middle management (i,e NCO and junior officers in the military). Give them clear goals and empower them to act. I have a lot of respect for Andy Grove, and the insights into his business was great, but if you want a good management book, read a military strategy manual. There's nothing new here.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Alaska Business Monthly, published by Alaska Business Publishing Company, Inc. on December 1, 1999. The length of the article is 684 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Healthy Paranoia for Business.(Review) (book review)
Author: Henry Holtzman
Publication:
Alaska Business Monthly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 1999
Publisher: Alaska Business Publishing Company, Inc.
Volume: 15
Issue: 12
Page: 24
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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