Friday Reflections

To All the Bosses

It was on October 8th, 1975 when I walked through the front doors of Raytheon Semiconductor to begin my journey in the High Tech Industry. “Way back then” many things were different, but some basic things have not changed even with the advances in technology: Human Connections and their memories. This reflection is about those memories.

STORY LINE

I have worked for 47 bosses in my 37 years career. (Yes, I can count by each name.) And from each one of them I learned some very valuable lessons. These lessons are the basis of so many Friday Reflections over last 27 years. Here are some memorable quotable quotes and teachings from some of them from my first 25 years in industry:

1. You can’t be a good engineer unless you have experienced all aspects of the processes yourself. Go and install some flow meters, clean the tubes and vacuum pumps with technicians, mix some acid baths and load some boats in furnaces before you start working on the process. (Joe Z)
2. There is a difference between a degree and education. Unfortunately people falsely believe that Degree means Education. (Maxine Gandall)
3. A desk is a dangerous place to view the world. I don’t want desktop engineers and tabletop managers. (Jim Boyd - It was the late 70s. We had only one conference room in the entire plant. Meetings took place on production floor.)
4. You have to think your job as your own business. (Charles Fa, in 1975 - my first boss in industry. He often reminded us about world wars and how people learnt to use resources very effectively during those times.)
5. In this fast moving Industry, we are measured by the degree of failure. (Mike Hill)
6. You must know your personal worth. (Gary Remmen)
7. You have never gone camping? Come and join me for camping in Tahoe. (Jerry Drake) One of the most memorable vacations with the boss and his kids.
8.  Don’t Assume. Constant follow up is the name of the game. (Bipin Shah)
9.  Have you had dinner? (Dave Deardorf. He was the GM of our group, not my direct boss. We were starting a new fab and worked long hours. Often, he would drop by production floor late in the evening. Seeing me there, he used to take me out for dinner)
10. In Asia, most of the business is done over a cup of tea. (Late Mr. Fran Dowd, the VP and GM of our Division. Though I was a very low level in organization, for some reasons not known to me, he had decided to teach me many more practical lessons about real management and working life through his unique STORYTELLING style.)
11. You can delegate many things but you cannot delegate Leadership. (Gidu Shroff)

  

REFLECTION

Bosses came in all shapes, sizes and styles. From each one I learned some very valuable lessons that has been helpful in my career and life. To All The Bosses I have loved Before and Now: Thank You for 37 years of memories.

Back to the Pack

POINT TO PONDER

Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success. 

                                                                            ~Henry Ford

STORY LINE

In the 1930's alcoholism was considered an incurable disease, one that was progressive and without hope. Medical science did not have a cure for what it considered a disease that would only end in the subject's death. If one was suffering from the disease they were pretty much on their own, without help, and left drink themselves into an early grave. 

    At that time an alocholic by the name of Bill Wilson could not accept the fact that there was no hope, or help for that matter, with his disease. He turned to a system that would eventually become the twelve steps process leading to sobriety. He decided he was going to reach out to people, to try and help them with their own battles. He failed many times in helping others until he met a doctor by the name of Bob Smith, who he helped kick the habit. 

    Together, they started forming groups where people suffering could come and go as they please, leaving the choice up to the individual. Its principles became a powerful tool and wasn't about shame or judgement - as had been told to them by the medical field through a distancing and ostracization of alcoholics - but its core principles were that of community, responsibility, honesty, empathy, and modesty. 

 

REFLECTION

The success rate of AA is highly debatable and even more difficult to track. The organization is notoriously protective of its members and does not allow surveys in the effort to keep their members anonymous. What is more important, in my view, is that someone who is struggling has a place to go if they are fighting the disease. There can be solace in a group of peers and "going back to pack," so to speak, is a powerful way to alleviate suffering. Alcoholics Anonymous might seem an extreme example but their principles have an immense power in the process of healing. Whether we are going through a tough time financially, with our health, or at work; often the answers are not just within you alone but can often be found in the people around you as well.