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What Me Worry? How smart entrepreneurs harness the power of paranoia

By Mark Henricks

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Depending on whom you're talking to, paranoia is: 1) apsychotic disorder characterized by delusions of persecution, 2) anirrational distrust of others, or 3) a key trait in entrepreneurialsuccess.

Sound crazy? Not according to Andrew S. Grove, president and CEOof Intel Corp. in Santa Clara, California, and author of Onlythe Paranoid Survive (Doubleday/Currency). The title ofGrove's book comes from an oft-repeated quote that has becomethe mantra of the chip king's rise to the top of the technologybusiness.

"I have no idea when I first said this," Grove writes,"but the fact remains that, when it comes to business, Ibelieve in the value of paranoia." To those who suffer fromclinical delusions of persecution, of course, paranoia is neither ajoke nor a help. However, in a business context, the practice ofvoluntarily being highly concerned about potential threats to yourcompany has something of a following.