Aggravated and depressed by the decline of their core memory business in the 1980s, Intel’s top management struggled for strategic clarity. After yet another painful discussion about what to do, the late Andy Grove, then Intel’s president, turned to CEO Gordon Moore and asked, “If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what do you think he would do?”
Moore answered without hesitation: “He would get us out of memories.” Grove stared at him, numb, and then said, “Why shouldn’t you and I walk out the door, come back, and do it ourselves?”
