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 Craig Barrett is not the answer
Sometimes the true measure of a leader lies not in how he runs the race but in how he departs. Here, Lou Gehrig is the defining example of grace in the face of the setting sun. On the flip side, there are lots of folks who don't know when it's time to throw in the towel. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones comes immediately to mind. The case of Intel's Andy Grove fits into neither of these neat categories. Grove announced on March 26 that he will turn over his post as chief executive officer to Craig Barrett, effective May 20. Grove will retain his job as chairman. Barrett, 58, is being promoted from h is current position as president and chief operating officer. Grove has clearly done a stellar job as head of Intel and for that he should be applauded. But he has failed to plan for succession. Barrett is 58 and is, at best, an interim CEO. Still unclear is who will lead Intel during the brunt of the opening decades of the next century. Grove has not groomed anyone, and there are no clear successors waiting in the wings at Intel. True, Intel has an excellent cadre of senior executives. These include manufacturing honcho Gerry Parker, communications chief Frank Gill and sales overseer Paul Otellini. However, for all three men, competence clearly predominates over charisma. Intel's braintrust also includes technically knowledgable managers like Albert Yu and Steve Smith, Mike Aymar, Carl Everett, Pat Gelsinger, Craig Kinnie, Claude Leglise and Ron Whittier. Indeed, Intel's strength is that it's got so much depth at so many positions, it has never become obvious who is destined f or bigger and better things. Add to that the fact that men of Grove's talent and ego are typically reluctant to even admit there will come a day when they'll step aside. Even outside of Intel, there are few executives who command enough respect to be brought in to run the company. The only two I can think of — IBM's Lou Gerstner and Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy — are not candidates for obvious reasons. Accordingly, Craig Barrett should do what Grove didn't do and seek out a potential successor. He'll have to find a manager who combines the stability of an IBM suit, the technical competence of an Intel executive and the visionary qualities of an Apple manager. Sounds a bit like Andy Grove, doesn't it.
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