Strategy Rules

David B. Yoffie, professor of international business administration at Harvard Business School, and Michael A. Cusumano, management professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have written 21 books between them. Here they apply their combined experience to dissect how exemplary CEOs master the often-contradictory disciplines of strategy and execution. Unsurprisingly, their subjects are Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Intel’s CEO Andy Grove and Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs.

Dylan and Picasso were always risking failure. This Apple thing is that way for me. I don’t want to fail, of course…If I try my best and fail, well, I’ve tried my best.Steve Jobs

Yoffie and Cusumano appreciate that Gates, Grove and Jobs embraced having a new crisis to deal with every day. The CEOs understood what their competitors and collaborators – the three men interchangeably played both roles for one another – could and might do. They showed equal discipline at recognizing what people who weren’t them couldn’t do. Though many leaders can’t spot – much less exploit – pivotal moments, these CEOs recognized crucial tectonic shifts that changed their industry or parts of it.