Intel Corp (INTC)

[alan81]

Some additional thoughts...
The frequency of failure in the area of core-competency is a result of inferior execution, more than additional risk-taking.
These are inextricably linked. If the project you are working on is "easy" for the team doing it, they will execute well. If it is complex for the team doing it they are more likely to fail. Intel has hired thousands of people over the past five years, and yes I agree that the number of problems increases with the number of new hires. However, this positions them well for future projects with a larger, well trained staff. When teams work on "easy" projects they tend not to learn much and not be able to tackle harder stuff in the future. When they work on complex things and fail, they tend to learn lots of stuff that enables them to be successful on more complex projects in the future.
Public perception is huge, especially when your next growth is going to come from consumers. A recall hurts the image
I have to disagree with your premise, although it makes intuitive sense. The FDIV bug did wonders for the Intel reputation... in a positive sense. If there are continual recalls that would be a problem, but somehow the occasional recall just seems to remind people that the material they get is good, and bad material gets sent back. Based on the people that do brand value surveys, the Intel brand is one of the most valuable in the world, and that value continues to grow. It has grown substantially since your period in the early '90's.

Point 3 about AMD...
You are right on here. We just get so many folks (AMDoug, facs...) with a real attitude we are a bit sensitive over here
--Alan