Quit and join academia now, Andy Grove

IN A REMARKABLE anecdote here at WES Chicago, keynote speaker Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School recounted how he'd once advised his old chum, Andy Grove, to get out of the business and join academia before it was too late.

Christensen is the author of the book The Innovator's Dilemma whose purpose is to explain why companies rise rapidly to the top but then suddenly slump. The key aspect to Christensen's thinking is how "disruptive technologies" come out of nowhere and throw industry leaders off their perch. An Intel engineer read the Prof's work and Grove summoned Christensen over.

When Grove heard his theories, he remarked, "Clay, I see what's wrong with your idea. You shouldn't call them disruptive technologies, you should call them straight, boring technologies." Unfortunately for Grove, the book had already been published.

When Grove asked Christenen for his advice, Clayton jokingly suggested Grove should get out while the going's good and join the academic lecturing circuit. Obviously Andy ignored him. µ