My colleague Jennifer Reingold wrote a great article in the current issue of Fortune about my friend Bill Campbell. As she quotes Intuit (INTU) founder Scott Cook, “this is a story that needs to be told.”
Many people in Silicon Valley know about Campbell, an advisor to Google (GOOG), director at Apple (AAPL), coach to entrepreneurs at Kleiner Perkins, bar owner and all-around good guy. Most people outside of Silicon Valley haven’t heard of him, and I’m hoping this article changes that.
I’ve known Campbell for years. He’s one of the most genuine, most interesting, most lovable people in a world not always known for all those attributes simultaneously.
My key takeaway from Reingold’s article is this: The technology world likes to think the bits and bytes are all that matter, that ideas, science, code and so on are enough to make a successful company. But they aren’t enough. Management matters too. Technology companies need to pay attention to things like strategy, career management, organizational structure and the other ingredients of business that sometimes get overlooked in the Valley.
Campbell often is the glue that holds together the visionaries and the MBAs, both of whom make Silicon Valley what it is.
I know you’ll enjoy this article.