"Grove has escaped natural selection by doing the evolving himself."
Taking into account the ongoing rapid pace of change, whose acceleration will outpace the ability of most humans to handle, it forces us to ask the question of how we can manage in this type of environment, and remain market leaders.
As one writer said about Grove, "Forcibly adapting himself to a succession of new realities, he has left a trail of discarded assumptions in his wake. When reality has changed, he has found the will to let go and embrace the new."
Adapting
The first aspect of is being willing to adapt and embrace the new. Because we can't just change for the sake of change, we must be in the place to understand the differences between fads and trends.
A fad is a very short-term product or service that captures the imagination of people but won't stick around for more than a season of time.
On the other hand, a trend is a real shift, people or events have caused the type of change that will be around for a long time to come.
Not only is it vital to be willing to adapt, but having the wisdom to know what to adapt to is just as important.
Positioning
The second way to manage and remain market leaders is in being a market leader. We must position our company like Grove did with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) or Steve Jobs has done with Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), where the market waits to see what your new announcements of products or services will be.
In other words, regardless of the speed the market may be moving at, if you've positioned your company as a leader in the minds of consumers or other businesses, they'll wait within a reasonable time frame to see what your offering into the mix is. That's a tremendous power.
That way you're not being acted on and endlessly responding, rather you're the one acting, and have reasonable control over your progress.
That's why I said we must be market leaders. That doesn't necessarily mean we'll sell the most widgets, but we're positioned in the minds of people as the one they want to take a look at first before making a decision.
Those able to accomplish this will be able to guide the evolving market rather than be a victim of it. We need to charge of the changing forces, rather than have them act upon us. We do that by precipitating the change, rather than allowing ourselves to be carried uncontrollably by them.
Andy Grove was able to this when heading Intel, by being the one to evolve himself and the company. He didn't wait around for it to happen.
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
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