
Andy Grove has died - sajid
https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/andrew-s-grove-1936-2016/
======
ChuckMcM
I'm sorry to hear of his passing. My first job in the Bay Area was working for
Intel in Santa Clara, and I worked in the same building that Andy did at the
time (Santa Clara 4). It amazed me that he had a cubical (well it had slightly
higher walls but was still just a cube.) I have two very influential memories
of my time at Intel, the first was when I went to a design update meeting on
the 80386 and Andy locked the door to the room at the time the meeting
started, a couple of people who should have attended in person were stuck
waiting in the hall. The second was that when we had one of our "business
update meetings" (which really was a layoff was happening to the people who
weren't in the meeting so we called them "BUMmer" meetings sometimes). Andy
said that because Intel was losing money the slowest of all semiconductor
companies we were by definition the best semiconductor company in the world.

Both of those experiences left me deeply impressed with how _focused_ he was
on the path forward. What ever was happening around you didn't matter, it was
"Put one foot in front of the other and make progress against the goal now."
kind of focus.

~~~
yuhong
Thinking about it and "second sourcing", it is funny how not that long
afterwards they used marketing tactics like the 486SX/487SX fiasco to compete
with AMD's 386DX. I wonder what would have happened if for example Intel
bought Compaq instead back in 1991 (instead of Compaq having to cut R&D for
example).

~~~
ChuckMcM
One of the reasons I left Intel for Sun was that Intel had just realized that
"lots of people" making x86 chips was a bad thing for their control of the
market. There were no less than 6 suppliers of 8086 chips. But with the 80286
and the 80386 it became clear that "owning the processor" so that they could
claim a big chunk of the profit on every PC sold was very very important to
the company. That strategy, while unpopular with the technical community,
worked out very well for Intel.

Andy was a driving force behind that shift, his view that "only the paranoid
survive" was that you had to believe everyone was out to get you in order to
avoid surprises from your "friends." And as much as I hate to admit it, he was
correct in that view.

~~~
branchless
I really find it hard to understand what drives these people. Let's say he
cornered the entire market and sold 100% of CPUs. What then? Why?

Don't they want the best for the world, and isn't that clearly going to come
through competition? I just cannot fathom their motives. Same for any line -
fast food chains? Do they want everyone in the world to eat their burger every
meal? Why?

I guess I need to buy one of his books to try and find out!

~~~
Create
One of the chief arguments for ARM and other MIPS-like ecosystems: they are
much more diverse, therefore evolve better on the long run than a tied-down
monopoly (Amd used to push Intel on many fronts, ie 64 bits, SIMD, RISC core
etc)

btw: Intel isn't a CPU manufacturer. It is a factory for manufacturing
processor factories: they are one level of abstraction higher.

~~~
ecthiender
> btw: Intel isn't a CPU manufacturer. It is a factory for manufacturing
> processor factories: they are one level of abstraction higher.

Can you elaborate that a bit? I mean I'm completely ignorant about CPU
manufacturing, your statement is very intriguing.

What exactly do they manufacture when you say they manufacture factory of
CPUs? Design?

------
rmorrison
I had the privilege of meeting Andy Grove a few years ago after he expressed
interest in learning what our startup was doing to advance medicine. At the
time, he was already clearly suffering the physical effects of Parkinsons, but
mentally he was completely with it.

He listened without saying a word for ~15 minutes while I explained what our
startup does. Then, he began "If I were you, I'd..." and proceeded to tell us
specific ways he thought we could better focus our business. His advice was
relevant and demonstrated a crisp understanding of our business and many of
the challenges we'd face over the next several years.

My natural inclination was to jump in and start pushing back, but I just stop
and decided to listen and learn from this business legend. I left extremely
impressed. Even today, several years later, we're still executing on many
things he foresaw after a brief interaction.

~~~
Create
Strange -- about the same timeframe, already with Parkinsons, a flagship
neuroscience lab in Oxford also tried to approach him for research money.
Without success.

------
akamaka
For those who are interested in knowing more about Andy Grove and the early
days of Intel, I highly recommend Tedlow's biography. Of all the biographies
or business histories I've read, I can't think of one which does a better job
of making you feel like you're hanging out with him, hearing his war stories,
and getting a real feel for what kind of guy he was and what drove him and his
company to success.

[http://www.amazon.com/Andy-Grove-Life-Times-
American/dp/1591...](http://www.amazon.com/Andy-Grove-Life-Times-
American/dp/1591841399)

~~~
bestham
Tedlow did a wonderful Google Talk about his book:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7yqwOI0-SQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7yqwOI0-SQ)

~~~
akamaka
Wow, cool, thanks for sharing this!

------
applecore
Grove's _High Output Management_ is highly recommended. It's a masterpiece of
management theory and practice.

[http://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-
Grove/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-
Grove/dp/0679762884)

~~~
klenwell
I was going through a difficult period at work last year and picked up High
Output Management on the recommendation of a thread I came across somewhere
here on HN. It didn't help save my job. But it did help me see what competent
management looks like and helped me preserve a bit of my sanity.

One thing that struck me as emblematic of Grove's generous and effective
management style is that nowhere in the book does he have a section addressing
the difficult task of letting people go. I kept waiting for it. Instead, he
focuses on the challenge of retaining talent stating that's the toughest job
management confronts.

The book made me really wish I worked for an organization he was in charge of.

~~~
rdli
Ben Horowitz talks about letting people go in The Hard Things About Hard
Things. Really a great book in its own right.

------
oska
Andy Grove was an immigrant to the US and a political refugee. Worth noting in
today's political climate.

~~~
jnbiche
Also, an immigrant from a country that was communist and behind the Iron
Curtain, from a time when communism and its lands were held in fear and
loathing similar to how terrorism and the Middle East are viewed today.

Worth thinking about next time Syrian refugees come up, but I know I'm
preaching to the choir here.

------
nodesocket
PBS did a great documentary "Silicon Valley"[1] (not to be confused with the
show), which I highly recommend.

It tells the amazing story of how Robert Noyce, Arthur Rock, Gordon Moore, and
Andrew Grove were absolute pioneers and insanely gifted. A huge loss.

Here is the first 15 minutes of the documentary on YouTube:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcOoQP7nhl4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcOoQP7nhl4)

~~~
astrodust
The effect of Grove's talent was only made obvious when he retired and the
company started to drift seriously sideways with their forays into VLIW and
stupidly deep instruction pipelines. His ability to steer a company through
what was perpetual chaos against relentless competitors is almost
unparalleled.

They didn't have it easy like Microsoft did where they were virtually the only
game in town. They almost lost their position to AMD on more than one
occasion, and were under constant pressure from Motorola, IBM, Sun, MIPS, DEC,
and others all intent on capturing a dominant position in the highly lucrative
desktop and server markets.

Where hard drive makers would have a few years of glory before burning out or
getting folded into another company, and where few CPU manufacturers had the
talent to survive more than a decade, Intel not only popularized the CPU, but
kept a near strangle-hold on the market for over two decades. They're still
number one by a number of key metrics even with the increasing pressure from
ARM.

Few companies from the Intel era in the 1970s have survived intact. The only
one I can think of is Seagate out of hundreds from that era.

I doubt few will ever measure up to Grove in terms of impact.

~~~
nickpsecurity
"They didn't have it easy like Microsoft did where they were virtually the
only game in town. They almost lost their position to AMD on more than one
occasion, and were under constant pressure from Motorola, IBM, Sun, MIPS, DEC,
and others all intent on capturing a dominant position in the highly lucrative
desktop and server markets."

You're way overstating that. You're whole post, but especially that one,
totally ignores the concept of lock-in due to ISA, OS, and library backward
compatibility. And first mover advantage, patents, and the Microsoft/Intel
partnership. It's amazing how successful a product can be when attempting to
clone or ditch it can sink an entire business or its profit margins. And
especially if it's cheaper than UNIX/RISC or mainframes on top of that. ;)

Note: I'm an Intel and Windows opponent who can't do shit for specific
customers of theirs with legacy apps due to the above. They _want_ benefits of
other things but _can 't_ switch. I can say same about certain mainframe
shops. I'll be able to say same about Oracle/Java and certain cloud shops 10
years from now. I bet you $100.

~~~
astrodust
Intel didn't have as many protections as Microsoft did. The attempts to clone
Windows, such as the efforts of companies like Parallels and WINE, never came
close to being 100% compatible.

AMD managed to navigate a patent minefield and ended up with a 32-bit
compatible chip that was basically a drop-in replacement, the user would
barely notice the difference unless they went looking for one. The Athlon XP
became a serious competitor to Intel's then flagship Pentium series. AMD was
also the first to come up with a workable 64-bit IA instruction set that Intel
was later forced to adopt because of widespread popularity.

Microsoft has never faced pressures like that. Windows is not something you
can simply swap out. Switching from Intel to AMD was simple, your software
would hardly notice, but from Windows to another OS has always been a massive
headache.

~~~
nickpsecurity
Barely. Intel had a headstart and was default in market. They pulled in more
money overall plus charged more for the chips. Gave them big R&D advantage.
There were compilers, too.

AMD usually played catch up, usually tot for tat making less money, got ahead
big on 64bit Opteron, and then Intel caught up. Today, Intel bough Altera
while people talk up Xilinx buying AMD. World of financial difference first
mover, IP, and lockin can make, eh?

------
andrewstuart
Gordon Moore created Moore's law and Andy Grove made it happen.

Loved this book [http://www.amazon.com/Only-Paranoid-Survive-Exploit-
Challeng...](http://www.amazon.com/Only-Paranoid-Survive-Exploit-
Challenge/dp/0385483821/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458608327&sr=8-1&keywords=only+the+paranoid+survive)

------
whbk
Highly recommend Swimming Across - Andy's autobiography of his childhood. The
biography Life and Times of an American picks up from there with the first
~50-75 pages recounting the story Andy told in his own words in Swimming
Across. Remarkable story - a life well-lived in the face of incredible early
challenges to be sure.

------
stuart78
What a loss. High Output Management remains one of the finest books on our
industry that I have read, and I'm glad we have that to help carry his torch
forward.

------
lifeisstillgood
It may just be a function of my own middle-age, but we seem to be losing more
of the old Giants - in politics, arts and commerce, and looking ahead,
everyone seems, well, smaller in comparison.

Just as software without silicon to run on is, well, smaller, the software
moguls of today can only run on hardware because people like Andy put it
underneath them a generation before.

~~~
thisrod
"I strode among giants, friends tell me now, though at the time I felt like a
misfit associating with oddballs." \- Steve Roper, _Camp 4: Recollections of a
Yosemite Rockclimber_.

Perhaps that is less true of Groves, who came from the lineage of Bell and
Shockley. I'm sure it applies to the great technologists of our future.

------
johnnyg
High Output Management has dramatically improved the culture, communication
and output of our company. I live a better life because of what this man
learned and passed on. Thanks Mr. Grove, you are a giant.

~~~
PakG1
Your comment just made me go purchase the book. Thanks.

------
melling
Andy was brilliant and driven. After he retired from Intel, he worked to help
find a cure for Parkinson's, from which he suffered. I wish that story had a
happier ending but it does demonstrate the fight in him.

[http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0128/070.html](http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0128/070.html)

------
omarforgotpwd
One of the Valley's founding fathers. May he rest in peace. If you haven't
read it:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679762884?keywords=high%20...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679762884?keywords=high%20output%20management&qid=1458607003&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1)

------
andrewtbham
Tribute to Andy Grove with Ben Horowitz. Worth watching.

[http://a16z.com/2015/09/28/the-man-who-built-silicon-
valley-...](http://a16z.com/2015/09/28/the-man-who-built-silicon-valley-a-
tribute-to-andy-grove/)

------
avs733
Intel was my first job out of college not all that long ago. I met Andy very
briefly at an event through the company and was incredibly impressed (and
intimidated obviously). My experience of Intel had its ups and downs but I
always had the utmost respect for those who came before me and laid tracks for
an industry and company that changed the world. The loss of Andy, while
inevitable, is profoundly sad.

------
Adams472
After reading Only the Paranoid Survive and High Output Management, I have a
deep respect for Andy Grove and the work he did to make Intel an enduring
company. He'll be missed.

------
ausjke
R.I.P

Read his book "Only the Paranoid Survive" many years ago, he fought for cancer
before I think, also remember his cubicle and no-reserved parking as mentioned
here. What a great man.

------
anonfunction
One of the only books I've consistently recommended is High Output
Management[1] by Andy Grove. His methods for dealing with complex
interconnected problems was as brilliant as it was when he wrote it 30+ years
ago.

1\. [http://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-
Grove/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-
Grove/dp/0679762884)

------
rdl
RIP. I'm in the process of re-reading High Output Nanagement, which was only
one of many contributions Andy Grove made to the world.

Thank you for everything you did.

------
altotrees
I have some very distinct memories of my Junior year of high school. One was a
trip to San Francisco, which impacted me greatly. I also remember sitting in
the summer sun, reading every article I had collected about Sean Fanning and
Napster (I gathered all of the relevant tech/lifestyle magazines at the
library).

I was already well-aware of the sweeping changes technology was making in the
world when I found Only The Paranoid Survive on my uncle's bookshelf. I think
it was that book that really hammered home how quickly things were changing,
and really astounded me, teaching me a bit about technology, a bit about
business and a ton about inspiration and drive.

Whenever I hear Andy's name, I nostalgically return to that summer, a time
filed with learning and stretching my perception of things. This news makes me
very sad, but also is making me return to that place. I feel lucky to have
been around the same time he was.

------
hodgesrm
I'm so sorry to read that Andy Grove has passed away. He was an inspiration at
many levels. In addition to his technical and social accomplishments he was a
living argument for free immigration into the United States. My deepest
respect and condolences to his family.

------
satyajeet23
One of the smartest thinkers and all the greatness, but he was also the person
who told Steve Jobs "I don't give a fuck about apple" and Jobs respected that.

------
karmacondon
I'm ashamed to admit that I'd never heard of Andy Grove until today. I did
find a great discussion of High Output Management by Ben Horowitz that may be
useful to fellow uninitiates: [http://a16z.com/2015/11/13/high-output-
management/](http://a16z.com/2015/11/13/high-output-management/)

------
danny8000
Worth watching, contains and interesting an segment about Andy Grove's and
Robert Noyce's relationship with each other at Intel.
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/silicon/](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/silicon/)

------
wycx
[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-07-01/andy-
grove...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-07-01/andy-grove-how-
america-can-create-jobs)

Interesting words from Andy Grove in 2010. Bonus refutation of Thomas
Friedman.

------
joantune
His article on taking on cancer is impressive and an example for all of us:
[http://www.phoenix5.org/articles/Fortune96Grove.html](http://www.phoenix5.org/articles/Fortune96Grove.html)
It is truly worth the read

------
yeukhon
As a City College engineering school alumn, thank you for your donation. RIP
Dr. Grove.

------
tuyguntn
We are living in a such period of time that we see lots of great inventions
from great people, how they push technology forward, how they change our daily
lives and see how they are leaving us :(

------
ww520
Sorry to hear his passing away. He was an icon in the valley. Intel won't be
where it is today without him. He was one of those who brought on the PC
revolution.

------
dudusmaximus
Working my way through High Output Management. Great Teacher

------
eruditely
Sorry to hear he passed away. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't read his books. I
intend to write a review under this comment once i'm done.

------
sanchitbareja
RIP - having read his memoir, and his management books, I've deep respect for
his work and principles that he advocated. He'll be missed

------
im_down_w_otp
There's been a string of pioneers in the field of computing who have passed
recently, but Andy Grove was truly a titan amongst giants.

------
dfischer
RIP - reading high output management now. Truly amazing individual.

------
simpx
sorry to hear that. Read his book "Only the Paranoid Survive", When I was in
high school, and it inspired me a lot R.I.P

------
TrkFhm
This the immigrant that really made it all possible

------
aswanson
Hard nosed, no bullshit fighter. Rest in peace.

------
amazingandyyy
Only the Paranoid Survive!! RIP

------
Uhhrrr
From Wikipedia,

>Grove's office was an 8-ft by 9-ft cubicle like the other employees, as he
disliked separate "mahogany-paneled corner offices." He states, "I've been
living in cubicles since 1978 — and it hasn't hurt a whole lot." Preferring
this egalitarian atmosphere, he thereby made his work area accessible to
anyone who walked by. There were no reserved parking spaces, and Grove parked
wherever there was a space.

~~~
jmspring
It seems like early Intel and HP higher ups were more in tune with
egalitarianism as well not being aloof or unapproachable. The Moore foundation
has been an amazing charity. Here in Santa Cruz, Andy Grove built a house out
on one of the streets near the beach between Santa Cruz and Capitola. He
worked with neighbors (according to local press) to not be out of place in the
design, etc.

Contrast that with Zuckerberg and his recent building issues, or how many
modern C-levels want their out of the way offices, etc.

Maybe it was just a different time.

~~~
gogopuppygogo
Gates also is known for having built a home that stood out. It's not about the
era its about the person.

~~~
jmspring
There was much fan fare over all the technology Bill Gates put into his house.
It was interesting to read, especially in the context of home automation these
days.

I worked with people who helped Jim Clark with some of his home automation in
the early/mid 2000s.

My point in general was I think the Silicon Valley elders of old, Grove,
Moore, Packards (I know multiple individuals who benefitted from the Packard
Children's fund w/ pre-mes. (sp?), etc. were much more community and outward
focused than that which we see today.

There are people here and there, but a lot of what gets glamorized or talked
about tend to be more selfishly oriented individuals.

Gates, early on, stated his kids weren't getting a huge part of his fortune, I
consider his works on par (via the Gates Foundation) as those of the Packards.
That said, the Packards have been very local vs. Gates more international
(maybe it's need, size of endowment, etc).

~~~
setpatchaddress
I think this is viewing the past with rose-tinted glasses. I recall the same
exact complaints being leveled at the 1980's tech generation.

~~~
jmspring
I'm being selective about comparisons, but it's a matter or proportion, and
things then were way more subdued.

Ellison, Jobs (mainly on the woodside mansion and not being charity oriented),
Clark, etc certainly contrast with those I mentioned.

I think 80s-90s had seriously strong personalities emerge that get to the core
of what you mention. Yet around that was much more down to earth philanthropy,
etc.

I don't see that same balance today.

~~~
Vegard7
I think it depends on the route they take up the mountain. You can be
brilliant or you can be brilliant at taking shortcuts.

The shortcut takers are generally more insecure and that manifests in
different behavior once they reach the top.

------
mehrdada
Can we get a black bar on top of HN?

RIP

~~~
pfarnsworth
Yes, we definitely need a black bar here. Grove set the tone of a lot of what
we take for granted in Silicon Valley, like a meritocracy, no offices for
execs, the best idea wins regardless of who suggested it, etc.

------
msie
Now's a good time to announce the end of the black bar.

~~~
contravariant
Now is possibly the worst time.

