In December 2024, Intel released a statement announcing that their CEO would be retiring effective immediately. To most people, it felt more like the CEO had been laid off. This naturally made people curious about why he was forced out.

The ousted CEO, Pat Gelsinger, was a legendary first-generation programmer. He joined Intel at 18 and worked there for 30 years, eventually becoming the company’s first CTO. Before leaving Intel, he had laid the groundwork for the next decade of the new Blue Giant. After leaving, he made his mark in the server hardware and software world with EMC and VMware. Looking back at that period, it almost feels like he was paving the way for Intel’s server market dominance — and he did, helping Intel achieve a complete monopoly. Then in 2021, he returned to Intel. Everything seemed picture-perfect.

But when he came back, he found it wasn’t the Intel he’d left. As the company had grown rapidly, the talent pool had become uneven and bureaucracy was rampant. It was like a car with no steering wheel and failed brakes, hurtling toward a cliff — while the passengers chatted and laughed, oblivious to the danger. His return made me nervous for him. Before him, Jim Keller — the so-called “silicon wizard” — had also waded through these murky waters. After a brief tenure, Keller went on podcasts to lambaste the company’s bureaucratic culture. In hindsight, you wouldn’t criticize a company that harshly if you didn’t care about it in the first place.

Right out of school, I felt like I’d lost control of my life. Someone recommended his book The Juggling Act (originally titled “平衡的智慧”), and it inspired me to seek meaning in life — it kept me from turning into a psychologically distorted robot. Once a company goes through rapid growth and has tens of thousands of employees, becoming a bonafide “big tech company,” its operating game enters garbage time. It’s like an athlete who lets themselves go and becomes obese — then steps on a nail. That overweight body can barely take another step. Without change, the outcome is predictable.

Finally, I want to touch on the innovation paradox in corporations. From what I’ve observed, when a company starts talking about innovation from the top down, there’s a good chance their existing business is already losing money or no longer growing. Real innovation in companies usually bubbles up from the bottom. When the organizational hierarchy is flat, sparks of innovation easily catch people’s attention, and everyone naturally keeps innovating. When you find yourself married to someone you don’t love, the best move is to get a lawyer and start the divorce. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to find a life that’s truly your own.