The ideas of this book have their origin in two sets of experiences. First and foremost, they are based on my years in management roles at Intel, during which I have experienced a number of strategic inflection points. Second, for the last five years, I have cotaught a course in strategic management at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where, through the eyes of my students, I got to relive some of my experiences, as well as the experiences of others. The first represents a kind of in vivo lesson about managing change; the second, its in vitro counterpart.
Correspondingly, my thanks go to those who worked alongside me: my fellow managers at Intel and my students at Stanford. Special thanks go to my coteacher, Professor Robert Burgelman, who, in addition to being my mentor in the art of case teaching, helped me clarify and amplify many of my thoughts.
I had no intention of writing a book on this subject until Harriet Rubin, from Doubleday, sought me out and convinced me that I should do so. Her understanding of the subject, her insistence on clarity and her elaboration of the basic ideas have been very helpful in the development of the manuscript.
Thanks are due to Robert Siegel for his unceasing efforts in locating source reference material for many of my examples, reference material for the notes in the back of this book, and for his nitpicky eyes that ferreted out numerous errors and inconsistencies.
The most significant credit goes to Catherine Fredman, who helped me throughout the long process of transforming a precis into a book. Her understanding of my subject matter, her ability to follow my thought processes, and her incredible organizational skills were immensely valuable. Particularly helpful were her insights into the parallels between individuals’ careers and corporate strategy. And her sense of humor has helped me skirt many a pothole.
Last—and definitely not least—my gratitude goes to my wife, Eva, who did double duty. She supported me through decades of navigating changes, many of them quite profound and correspondingly capable of taking their toll. Then she supported me again as I relived some of these events in the pages of this book—and she even helped make sure that my text is clear.
Santa Clara
February 1996