"We possibly would've had the trains run better, but it would have been at a long-term cost to Intel's future."
Andy Grove made that statement when asked about whether things at Intel (INTC) would be better if he were still CEO. The question was asked because Intel was reeling at the time from a number of horrible executions of their strategy and products that made everyone ask if they still had it in them to be a great company.
What he was referring to was the difference between working on the right things, or making existing things better at the expense of the future of the company. This isn't always as easy to see as it sounds.
For one thing, if all we ever do is look to the future, there won't be a present to work on. The future must work together with the present for a company to survive.
This isn't a case of an either/or scenario, but of both working together at the same time. If they aren't, it is very doubtful that a business will remain in a competitive position in its industry.
The thing that makes the future of the company, is the present reputation of the company. That means that what we're working on needs to be done in the quality way possible. At the same time, we must look to the future and have sufficient resources allocated to that end.
If we look too far forward, at the expense of the present, we won't have no future because of the lack of quality in our products. Equally, if we focus solely on the present, we'll suddenly find ourselves out of the race to the next area our industry is headed in.
The answer is we must do both with equal focus and execution. At the same time we're putting out great products or services, we also need to be creating the next generation of whatever market it is we're in.
To look at these as separate in importance doesn't make sense. They both need to be in operation side-by-side as we live in the present while looking toward the future.
Other Andy Grove Resources:
Andy Grove's Rational Exuberance
The Digital Age . . . driven by the passion of Intel's Andrew Grove
The History and Influence of Andy Grove
Andy Grove enters new post-Intel role as activist capitalist
Remember to Sign up for my feed, bizzbite and digg this!
Sponsored link: The outsourcing every manager requires - Tampa Locksmith
Comment Preview