“Grove participated in the founding of Intel Corporation and was a key driving force in its rapid success” says Wikipedia. Tedlow offers a wealth of behind-the-scenes insights into Grove’s remarkable success and invaluable lessons on strategy, innovation, management and leadership.
Andy Grove was born on September 2, 1936, in Budapest, Hungary, to a middle-class Jewish family. According to Wikipedia, he was named "Gróf András István" (in Hungary, the family name is first). His friends called him "Andris". In 1956, during the Hungarian Revolution, “he left his home and family under the cover of night, and emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York in 1957”, where he studied chemical engineering from the City College of New York in 1960. “After settling in California, he received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963.
Tedlow’s book looks into how Grove became the quitessential American capitalist. During his career, Intel became the model for Silicon Valley. And the Silicon Valley, in turn, became the model for the rest of the world. In 1997, Grove was Time magazine’s Man of the Year — because he was considered an icon of the promise of American life.
"Grove's output as a teacher of management has been prodigious," writes Tedlow, "Yet it is one thing to search for truth in the ivory tower and quite another to take those lessons, however wrenching, and apply them to a living, breathing business like Intel. Grove's most powerful lessons have been in the doing."
This biography, by a Harvard Business School professor with an unprecedented access to information, makes an honest effort to uncover the Andy Grove legend, how his mind works, how he tackles problems, and how he leads others to exceed expectations. The most important theme in Grove’s life has been the way he has responded to change: boldly, quickly, with every scrap of intelligence -- but with no respect for conventional wisdom.
“This page-turning drama, told by a master biographer, combines both the grand narrative and the fascinating details of Andy Grove’s life. Perhaps many already know that Grove is the greatest American business leader of his generation, but everyone will be enthralled by the twists, turns, surprises, and the triumphs of Tedlow’s true story,” says Reed Hundt, former chairman, Federal Communications Commission, and a member of Intel’s board of Directors.
Richard S. Tedlow is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he is a specialist in the History of Business. His primary areas of interest are brands and branding, business history, entrepreneurship, leadership, management styles.
