How Would You Move Mount Fuji?: Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle -- How the World's Smartest Companies Select the Most Creative Thinkers [Paperback]

William Poundstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2004

For years, Microsoft and other high-tech companies have been posing riddles and logic puzzles like these in their notoriously grueling job interviews. Now "puzzle interviews" have become a hot new trend in hiring. From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, employers are using tough and tricky questions to gauge job candidates' intelligence, imagination, and problem-solving ability -- qualities needed to survive in today's hypercompetitive global marketplace. For the first time, William Poundstone reveals the toughest questions used at Microsoft and other Fortune 500 companies -- and supplies the answers. He traces the rise and controversial fall of employer-mandated IQ tests, the peculiar obsessions of Bill Gates (who plays jigsaw puzzles as a competitive sport), the sadistic mind games of Wall Street (which reportedly led one job seeker to smash a forty-third-story window), and the bizarre excesses of today's hiring managers (who may start off your interview with a box of Legos or a game of virtual Russian roulette). How Would You Move Mount Fuji? is an indispensable book for anyone in business. Managers seeking the most talented employees will learn to incorporate puzzle interviews in their search for the top candidates. Job seekers will discover how to tackle even the most brain-busting questions, and gain the advantage that could win the job of a lifetime. And anyone who has ever dreamed of going up against the best minds in business may discover that these puzzles are simply a lot of fun. Why are beer cans tapered on the end, anyway?

Editorial Reviews

Review

'...how puzzles can - and cannot - identify the potential stars of a competitive company' - BOSTON GLOBE 'A fun read, useful and enjoyable, not just for those in the job market. Poundstone's engaging, easy-going writing style steers readers through' - USA TODAY 'It's all about thinking out of the box' - WIRED

About the Author

William Poundstone is the bestselling author of eight books, including Prisoner's Dilemma and Big Secrets. He has written for The Economist, Esquire, The New York Times Book Review and other publications. His science writing has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (April 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316778494
• ISBN-13: 978-0316778497
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Business & Investing > Job Hunting & Careers > Job Hunting
  • #95 in Books > Self-Help > Creativity

More About the Author

William Poundstone is the author of two previous Hill and Wang books: Fortune's Formula and Gaming the Vote.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, but incomplete., October 21, 2005

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How Would You Move Mount Fuji?: Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle -- How the World's Smartest Companies Select the Most Creative Thinkers (Paperback)

We recommend this book to people trying to get hired at Microsoft or companies influenced by its hiring practices; people who want to think critically about how hiring practices work; and people who want to see how smart they are. The last group includes those who enjoy puzzles, and will relish the fun, challenging questions presented here. The book's core is a collection of entertaining brainteasers from job interviews. Given the high level of competition, most people who are trying to get hired at Microsoft probably need the edge it provides. Readers can work methodically through the questions, and the reasons behind them, to build a general approach for dealing with most puzzles. Readers who want to reflect on hiring practices - such as human resources personnel or scholars of corporate culture - will find the book intriguing but incomplete. Author William Poundstone is incredibly useful when discussing the gaps between what these questions do and what they are intended to do, but he delivers only quick sketches of explanations about how corporate culture retains these approaches despite their relative lack of function. His suggestions for alternative approaches are equally brief. Even after reading this entertaining book, readers are likely to find that perfecting their companies' interviewing processes will continue to be something of a puzzle.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Microsoft is not doing it anymore, December 13, 2005

By 

Joaquin A. Aguilar - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How Would You Move Mount Fuji?: Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle -- How the World's Smartest Companies Select the Most Creative Thinkers (Paperback)

I had my interview yesterday. Microsoft is no longer doing questions like the ones in this book. If you want this book to train for the interview you might want to get instead "Programming interview exposed". Other than that, the book is well written and has a good history of microsoft... No, they will not ask you anything about the history of MS

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not altogether relevant, December 14, 2004

By 

Christian Buckley (Washington State, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How Would You Move Mount Fuji?: Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle -- How the World's Smartest Companies Select the Most Creative Thinkers (Paperback)

As someone currently interviewing at MS, I was interested in reading several of the books on the subject, and someone recommended this one. The content focus is spread between historical data on various management styles and use of puzzles in interviews, and many of the now famous brain-teasers once used at MS. This wasn't exactly what i was hoping to read - it would have been nice to get more of an insight into other aspects of their hiring practices, because puzzles are just one little piece of it.

I found a much better book for those keen on understand how MS managers think - epsecially when hiring: "The 12 Simple Secrets of Microsoft Management: How to Think and Act Like a Microsoft Manager and Take Your Company to the Top" by David Thielen, while positioned as a book for management in other companies, is actually a fantastic resource for people interviewing - or hoping to interview.