Only the Paranoid Survive

“Classics” are books that shake you. These you keep in your library to open a few times in search of inspiration or deeper connections to everyday matters.

Andy Grove’s (Intel’s shaper) “Only the Paranoid Survive” is a classic.

“Business success contains the seeds of its own destruction”, so managers should be in a constant paranoid state to guard the business against attacks that it will inevitably be assailed with.

However, every paranoic daily worry (competition, product development, etc.) pales in comparison with what he defined as a “strategic inflection point”.

“A strategic inflection point is a time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change”. It is usually caused by technological change which can never be halted – “in technology, whatever can be done will be done”. And it can turn into a deadly threat or into a big opportunity depending on how the business reacts.

The force stemming from a strategic inflection is an order of magnitude larger than what the business is accustomed to, what Grove calls a “10X change”. Under a 10X force the business core will certainly change – moats will implode, things will no longer work the way they used to –– and, no doubt, the transition to a new business state will be confusing.

Conclusion

An inflection point begins amorphously but, even though short-lived, we can now affirm that AI is morphing into a huge inflection point.

AI will reach you. Sooner or later, it will change something fundamental in your business and in your life.

Undreamt things will happen and, as with any technology before, AI’s overall impact on society will be mostly constructive instead of destructive.

VC investing in AI-driven chaotic and turbulent times will largely demand business judgment from GPs since a new world – a new framework, a new set of understandings, a new set of actions – shall emerge differently from the rules that have prevailed thus far.