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In the Company of Giants
Book

In the Company of Giants

Candid Conversations with Visionaries of the Digital World

Rama Dev Jager and Rafael Ortiz
McGraw-Hill, 1997
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Background
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Rama Dev Jager and Rafael Ortiz present an excellent series of 16 interviews with the digital world’s most successful leaders: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, T.J. Rodgers, Gordon Eubanks, Steve Case, Scott Cook, Sandy Kurtzig, John Warnock, Charles Geschke, Michael Dell, Charles Wang, Andy Grove, Trip Hawkins, Ed McCracken, Ken Olsen, and Bill Hewlett. Each interview begins with a brief history of how each person founded a company and produced groundbreaking change in the digital industry. These pioneers answer many probing questions about their achievements, visions for the future of electronic technology, and tips for success. Their interview responses are highly informative and engaging. The book is thoughtfully written and well edited. Although much of its advice will be familiar to experienced marketers, managers, and executives, getAbstract recommends it to them because of the useful and interesting inside look at the techniques and insights these industry leaders employed to such successful results.

Summary

The Giants of the Computer Industry

While hundreds of entrepreneurs have had great ideas and started great companies, these computer industry giants not only started with great ideas, but managed the teams that implemented them. Then, they built great organizations and turned companies with one great product into companies with diverse marketplace offerings.

These giants were especially influential because they created an industry known for dynamically changing the way people exist. They produced generational change.

These leaders have talent, as well as good luck. Commonly, they began as entrepreneurs but they did not start out because they had master plans for success. Rather, they each describe being frustrated by the ineptitude, politics, and mediocrity of companies they once worked for and left. Often, the companies that employed them failed to recognize the worth of their innovative ideas.

Steve Jobs: Emphasize Only the Best

Steve Jobs is one of many computer giants who benefited from earlier work that had not been further developed and marketed. Jobs and Steve Wozniack had already brought out the Apple II in 1982, when they saw a demonstration...

About the Authors

Rama Dev Jager,  who holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern and an MBA from Stanford University, is the co-founder of EMCard, a healthcare information technology startup that developed the first comprehensive portable medical record. Rafael Ortiz,  who also has his MBA from Stanford, works in product management for OnLive! Technologies, a Silicon Valley start-up, and worked in product marketing and sales for Apple Computer and ROLM.

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