Only The Paranoid Survive
Only The Paranoid Survive
Only The Paranoid Survive
management
Book review
By: Divyesh Shah
ABSTRACT
Every Tybba
manager
157 in every
industry must assume that
something will change very
soon. ONLY THE PARANOID
SURVIVE is a classic lesson in
leadership skills that every
manager will benefit from.
2 | Page
BOOK REVIEW
The lessons imparted by the author Andrew S. Grove in this book is not applicable only
in the computer industry but in all the industries even in the military
The book talks about the practical aspects that work in the real world. The best line I
liked from the book in this aspect is Don't differentiate without a difference. Don't
introduce improvements whose only purpose is to give you an advantage over your
competitor, without giving your customer a substantial advantage. To stand out amongst
the competitors one has to have a competitive advantage, but that advantage should serve
some purpose to the end users as well, only then the company stands out of the rest.
The ideology I liked the most in the book is the authors belief in the importance of
commitment. The author states that organizations fail not because they are wrong but
rather because they fail to commit to a decision.
The author Andrew S. Grove also mentions the prime responsibility of a manager in this
book with various examples which is to guard the business against the competitors attack
and pound this attitude in the people under his management.
Author also differentiates good managers in this book by saying that they are the ones
who do not have a linear thought process which enables them to see the conditions of the
world around them and forecast what may be coming next that will affect their business.
This book mentions how a large organization can take advantage of a strategic inflection
point and become big but nowhere mentions what a new start up or a company should do
to create a strategic inflection point which hinders growth for existing large organizations
and help the new company to grow
The author Andrew S. Grove mentions in his book that People who have no emotional
stake in a decision can see what needs to be done sooner. I would counter argue to this
as usually people who have an emotional stake in the business knows the business in and
out and can forecast the problem well before anyone else can as they tend to be more
dedicated.
This book also doesnt mention the role of organizational development and its
application in the change process which is must required in any organization to carry out
a change process.
3 | Page
O N LY T H E P A R A N O I D S U R V I V E
A manger should always lookout for signals that a strategic inflection point is about to
come and so that he can be prepared for it.
The secret to success is identifying the oncoming crisis early and reacting sensibly. If an
oncoming crisis is left unattended to the company will be weakened and most likely will
never be restored back to its full potential.
An organization should focus more on outside world as the majority of the threats a
business face comes from technological changes and shifts in consumers demand which
should be acted upon to aid the survival of a business but the focus should not be
removed from within the organization also as change can be influenced by organization
itself. For example, if a business develops a new product that is not fit for the market
then it will bring the business down.
Strategic inflection points do not always mean disaster. They can also bring about
opportunities for new period of growth for companies.
The more successful your business is, more people would want a chunk of your business
and then another chunk and then another until there is nothing left.
To understand the change stay in touch of the people around you, they are usually in
touch with impending change sooner than you are.
4 | Page
BOOK REVIEW
Businesses fail either because they leave their customers i.e. they change
a strategy that worked for them in the past or because their customers
leave them.
When an industry goes through a strategic inflection point then the established players
may face trouble. Whereas, a 10X change provides an opportunity for outsiders to join
and become part of the action. But a question arises that how a small competitor can take
advantage of the situation when an established player is going through a strategic
inflection point? Also how a new company or a small competitor can take benefit of the
SIPs and grow?
Also another question raised by the book is how the massive changes in companies
affects its workers and how much assistance top management provides to the workers in
the change process during such situations?
These are the question that arises after reading this book which definitely requires research from
my part to find the answer to it.
5 | Page
O N LY T H E P A R A N O I D S U R V I V E
6 | Page
BOOK REVIEW