In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations With the Visionaries of the Digital World [Hardcover]

Rama Dev Jager (Author), Rafael Ortiz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

In the Company of Giants presents groundbreaking conversations conducted with 16 of the digital world's most successful personalities: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, T. J. Rodgers, Gordon Eubanks, Steve Case, Scott Cook, Sandy Kurtzig, John Warnock and Charles Geschke, Michael Dell, Charles Wang, Andy Grove, Trip Hawkins, Ed McCracken, Ken Olsen, and Bill Hewlett. In order to write In the Company of Giants, the authors sat down with Silicon Valley's greatest visionaries in intimate, face-to-face discussions without corporate filters or interference. Each spoke for hours, answering the authors' probing questions about their work and their success; about the technology industry and their visions of the future; and about themselves, their values, and each other. The result is the broadest, deepest, most forthright investigation yet into the origins, evolution, and future direction of the Information Age and the idiosyncratic geniuses who lead it. In these pages, you'll read Steve Jobs on what Apple did right and where it went wrong; d Bill Gates on the future of operating systems in an internet-centered world; Gordon Eubanks at Symantec on the two-guys-in-a-garage myth ("Apple wouldn't have gone anywhere without guys like [former Apple Chairman and President A. C. "Mike"] Markkula, who had some idea of what a company looked like."); Sandy Kurtzig at ASK on how she stood up to the big boys at Hewlett-Packard to retain control of her soon-to-be software colossus; Steve Case on censorship on the internet - and customer service; and Andy Grove on the next big frontier (cross-fertilizing genetics and biotech with information technology). Equal parts candid opinion, insider's history of the high-techtrade, and front-line business primer, packed with insight and passion, In the Company of Giants transports you to the epicenter of the most vital and influential industry of our time, in the company of some of the most lively and intelligent minds at work today.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Rama Dev Jager and Rafael Ortiz offer readers an insider's view into the history and people behind today's greatest digital successes. In a series of probing interviews, Microsoft's Bill Gates, America Online's Steve Case, Dell Computer's Michael Dell, and 13 others share their stories of how it all happened. They share their recollections of the good decisions and bad, the misfortunes and lucky breaks, but most of all, the people and attitudes that turned the ideas of these digital age giants into the most influential companies in the world of computing.

From Booklist

Without fear of exaggeration, Jager and Ortiz use their title to entice readers. The two have snared an impressive roster of the biggest names from the world of computers and information. They encourage the likes of Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Bill Hewlett, Andy Grove, and 11 others to offer up personal views and comments on their products, their companies, and their competitors. While many such gatherings have focused on the effects of the information revolution or on future scenarios, Jager and Ortiz get their interviewees to discuss the entrepreneurial aspects of their companies, highlighting their successes and failures and explaining how they got started and what barriers they have encountered. One can only imagine the sparks that might have flown had these 16 participated in some sort of roundtable. In the meantime, these individual conversations can help satisfy our curiosity. David Rouse

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill; First Edition edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070329346
• ISBN-13: 978-0070329348
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,840,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Secrets of the Successful, November 3, 1997

By 

Stephen Lee (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations With the Visionaries of the Digital World (Hardcover)

In the Company of Giants - Candid Conversations with the Visionaries of the Digital World By Rama D. Jager & Rafael Ortiz McGraw-Hill Book Co Besides their bank accounts, what is the X-factor that distinguishes individuals like Bill Gates as juggernauts in the digital industry? Is it their IQ, business acumen, or luck? It's hard to say, but one thing for sure is that every one of them has a battle story to tell and scars to show. In the Company of Giants cuts through the ills of wordiness and brings to you, unfiltered, the ideas, insights and strategies of the movers and shakers of the digital world. Remember the movie Phenomenon starring John Travolta? Travolta's average Joe character went from small-town mechanic to genius in a bolt of lightning. Now don't we all appreciate a blast of genius now and then; we all fall prey to the overnight success stories churned out by the Hollywood movie-making machine, but there will be none of that in this book. Everyone interviewed in this book is riddled with battle scars from clamouring to the top. In the Company of Giants is written in a question-and-answer format preceded by a short introduction that reads kind of like a resume of the interviewee. A parade of clear thinkers and visionaries like Steve Jobs (Apple), Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Charles Wang (Computer Associates) pack the pages with their visions, business philosophies, and predictions. Although the Q&A format is highly effective in presenting the ideas of these top guns in an unfiltered manner, I have reservations about the information and responses being too well-prepared and sometimes reeking of public-relations hype. Nonetheless, the interviewers did an excellent job of asking probing and exploratory questions in true journalistic fashion. Success, as these individuals have experienced it, stems from an ambiguous mix of genius, perseverance and luck; however, that doesn't preclude the fact that there are some lessons that transcend the boundaries and is applicable in any industry - you will personally realise certain traits (be it work ethics or philosophical perspective) that fuel the success of people like Bill Hewlett of Hewlett-Packard. In the Company of Giants isn't a feel-good book that will give you the false impression that you can make it big too. Rather, it's a conglomeration of right moves that you are obligated to filter through yourself and decide which is applicable. So, don't expect life-altering advice about whether to start your own business because, as Michael Dell puts it, "If I have to tell you, then you don't know." But as a reference to the fundamentals of good marketing and human resource management from those who have been there, this book is invaluable.

4.0 out of 5 stars There is no cookie cutter solution, February 15, 2006

By 

Louise McCauley (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations With the Visionaries of the Digital World (Paperback)

This book grew out of a series of interviews by the authors with some of the most powerful visionaries of the computer industry. Among them are Bill Hewlett, Michael Dell, Andy Grove, Ken Olsen, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sandy Kurtzig, Steve Case and Ed McCracken. Some of the topics covered are business strategy, getting started, utilizing human capital, successful partnerships, fostering teamwork, customer relations, using technology and leadership practices.

If you're looking for a formula to successful participation in the computer industry, this book will not provide it. If you are looking for insights on business practices and strategy from some of the greatest entrepreneurs in the computer industry, this book will offer that and more.

Also included in the book are profiles of the entrepreneurs, their backgrounds and core values. This book is a candid look at the many different ways that business can be grown and fostered, from some of the greatest business minds of the computer industry.

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!, May 22, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations With the Visionaries of the Digital World (Paperback)

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, we [...] recommend it to them because of the useful and interesting inside look at the techniques and insights these industry leaders employed to such successful results.