AlmostPerfect: How a Bunch of Regular Guys Built WordPerfect Corporation Book

A decent enough trip down memory lane of four pretty formative years of my life spent at WP Corp, 1989-93. The book is strongest and most interesting on the early years, and gets a bit bogged down in needless technical detail and preaching of his business philosophy and Darwinian views on employee relations, which seem very outdated in the age of Google and Facebook.

Written in 1993, barely a year after his ouster, and before the company imploded, it would be interesting to see if time has led Peterson to see things any differently, either in acknowledging maybe that his strategic errors set up the fall, or becoming more entrenched in the idea that his vision and leadership is what made WP a success. My vote is the former, that he bears much responsibility for its fall, particularly in the colossal mistake of backing OS/2 instead of Windows, which is largely glossed over, and in not realizing that what worked when there were 5 employees could not work with 5,000. In the end it seems pretty clear that the author's arrogance and inflexibility were responsible for both his downfall, and in part, that of WP Corp, may it rest in peace.