I had a stock brockerage account with a well known firm. The CEO there ran 
it into the ground. So he finally leaves with I believe $50 million. Good 
you get to stay. Bad you get paid. And well.

My stock broker decided to leave earlier and took all of her clients - every 
one. This firm  was starting to nickle and dime their customers for the 
smallest things according to her.

I think what Bill & Dave had in common was not only humility but a 
willingness to "get their hands dirty". And listen. And pride in their 
company, people and products. Remember how the HP3000 in it's earliest days 
was recalled? Every one.

Can you imagine a company doing that today?

 There's a lot of old time leaders like that - Thomas Watson I am sure (the 
modern IBM), Kelly Johnson (the aeronautical genius who ran Lockheed's 
"Skunk Works".

I think what separated them from the modern leaders is that most of the 
current leaders are MBA graduates who come out of cookie cutter schools. All 
with cookie cutter ideas. They all want to maximize for each quarter and few 
seem to think long term any more.

And they didn't build the companies. Don't know about Lou Gerstner - who 
redefined IBM recently.

Well, Intel certainly has a bit of the HP Way wouldn't you all agree? Even 
the President has just a cubicle I believe.


Bill
*****
I think what gets me the most is how much a failure CEO gets paid.  My wife
used to work for SGI and they burned through two CEOs while she was there.
They both did their best to drive SGI into the ground and got paid 
handsomely
for it.  And when they were done pillaging SGI, they went on to be corporate
level execs in other companies, just to spread the pain a little.

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