Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs

by John Doerr

The mid-1970s marked the birth of the personal computer industry, a yeasty time for fresh ideas and upstart entrepreneurs. I was low on the totem pole, a first-year product manager, but Grove and I had a relationship. One spring day I grabbed him and drove up to the first West Coast Computer Faire at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. We found a former Intel executive demonstrating the Apple II, the state of the art for graphical display. I said, “Andy, we’ve already got the operating system. We make the microchip. We’ve got the compilers; we’ve licensed BASIC. Intel should make a personal computer.” But as we hiked down the aisles, past vendors hawking plastic bags of chips and parts, Grove took a long look and said, “Eh, these are hobbyists. We’re not going into that business.” My big dream was dashed. Intel never did enter the PC market.

Interesting note, but is this relevant to OKRs? Or is the author lamenting on a missed opportunity for Intel?