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

by William Poundstone (Author) "In August 1957 William Shockley was recruiting staff for his Palo Alto, California, start-up, Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory..." (more)
Key Phrases: senior pirate, interview puzzles, puzzle interviews, Bill Gates, New York, Silicon Valley (more...)

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

Product Description
Microsoft's notoriously grueling interview process has been emulated by companies everywhere that seek to separate the most creative thinkers from the merely brilliant. HOW WOULD YOU MOVE MOUNT FUJI? reveals more than 35 of these challenging riddles and puzzles and, for the first time, shows how answers can be found through creative and effective analytical thinking.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (April 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316778494
• ISBN-13: 978-0316778497
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,549 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

10 of 11 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 (REAL NAME)

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