Demand Black-belt Execution
Andy Grove.
Born into poverty. A survivor of Nazi Germany.
Escaped to the US at age 20. Could not speak English when he arrived.
An exile.
Penniless.
Only him and his mother.
Built a company worth $200BN.
One of the Top 10 CEO’s of all time.
Father of Silicon Valley.
Founder of OKRs.
A Stanford Professor.
An amazing Engineer.
Teacher. Author. Mentor.
Ninja.
Ruthless Intelligence
At Intel employees were encouraged to speak their minds. In any debate your position meant nothing, your ideas were all that counted. If you were 23 and could lead a discussion, project or business better than anyone else then you would lead it.
Simple math.
Andy insisted that ‘people be demanding of one another,’ that the ‘best idea win,’ that the team ‘confront each other constructively.’
He called Intel a place of ‘ruthless intelligence.’
As leader he fostered this meritocracy — he was on the same footing as the team: he had the same perks as everyone else: same parking space, same desk, same stationary, same water cooler.
If you walked into Intel you’d never guess he was in charge.
If you watched him in the Boardroom you’d know he was.
He was the CEO not by badge but by the work he did every day.
Just don’t die
Intel were in the semi-conductor business. During the 80’s Japanese manufacturers flooded the market with cheap substitutes leaving Intel for dead.
At the time Intel was a large giant of 30,000 employees sitting on a business model that had expired overnight.
Most bet that the end was at hand.
Not Andy.
In 3 months he re-organised the entire business to build micro-processors instead … and built a new business that is the foundation of today’s information economy.
Amazing.
He built a robust system of setting goals, tracking them and holding teams accountable.
Without great execution Intel would have been dead.
The OKR system he built is used extensively across the great companies of today — Google, Facebook, Deep Mind and thousands of others.
His big insight — focus on Outcomes. Focus on Results. Agree a plan that has impact and then execute against it.
Agree what is important. Then do it.
He wrote an entire book explaining it — High Output Management.
While running a $200BN company with 64,000 employees he took the time out to write one of the best management books of all time.
Then released it to the public. Accessible to all his competitors, current and future.
What a maniac.
How you earn your black-belt
At heart Andy was a teacher. He wrote many books. He taught many classes.
Every month he would spend a whole day lecturing to new recruits on how Intel worked.
He mentored many of the great CEO’s of today. Zuckerburg. Horowtiz. Jobs. Gates.
After retiring as CEO he spent 15 years as a Stanford Professor.
After his death thousands of students wrote letters of thanks to him and his family.
In the martial arts you only earn your black-belt if your Sensei can see that you are committed to furthering the legacy of the belt.
Once you have mastered an art your job is to teach the next generation of young warriors.
That is your duty. That is how it works.
To be a master you have to be teacher.
To be a warrior you have to care.
Do not stop until you get there
Very few get to wear a black-belt. It is a long and painful journey that takes a lifetime of dedication. Decades of meticulous effort is required. Most give up along the way.
The belt is the reward for doing the small things right every day. It is the reward for diligence, sacrifice and courage.
It is only given to a Master. It is only given to those who can do things that others can’t, to those who can see Truths hidden to the rest of us.
So.
Set your sights on Mastery. Do not stop until you get there.
Do not give up when it gets tough.
Be precise with your code. Do not be lazy in your thinking. Approach every task as if it is a final exam. Deliver results that make a difference. Delight your team with the work they have asked you to do.
Surprise them.
Do the important stuff.
Challenge your assumptions. Confront the world constructively. Speak up if you disagree. Stand up if you don’t believe in something.
Find The Truth and follow it.
Follow ideas and not people.
Focus on outcomes and not inputs.
Be ruthlessly intelligent.
Teach others by the example you set. Speak with your work and not your title. Have others admire the path you have walked.
Teach the warriors of tomorrow so they can be stronger than you are today.
Agree what is important.
Then do it.
Demand Black-Belt Execution
An EXPLORE Value
