Sharing the limelight
Observer April 15th, 2007
.. a priceless vignette in the new thumper on and for Andy Grove, named as such, by Richard Tedlow. It speaks to Grove’s resentment at not getting credit for his increasingly pivotal role in Intel’s early days. The public face remained co-founder Bob Noyce even while his day to day involvement decreased. This ‘got on Grove’s nerves’. The fix? His wife Eva calls Noyce to express as such, and lo and behold, things change. As often, behind every great man, a great woman (and it may be trending to the vice versa these days too). Or maybe the Groves together are just a crack team.
There’s no question of Grove’s managerial excellence, mastery, and natural leadership characteristics. But between the lines of this book, while Grove comes across as a force of nature, one cannot be convinced he was always a positive force for those working closely with him day in day out. For sure he stretched people to perform beyond themselves, and many became multimillionaires. But was Intel a good place for the soul? Was the culture an asset or a liability? What gets forgiven in the way of behavior when performance is strong? And what the forgone contribution of associates inhibited by fear?
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