About My First Boss- Between You, Me and the Doorpost.

Point to Ponder: Your first boss is the biggest factor in your career success. A boss who doesn’t trust you won’t give you opportunities to grow. – William Raduchel

Story Line: The quote above starts with words Pick a Boss. I didn’t include it there because, like many people, I didn’t have a choice in picking a boss; especially at my first job out of school and in lean economic times. However, I was fortunate that the gentleman who welcomed me on October 13, 1975 at the doors of Raytheon Semiconductor in Mountain View, California was a very kind man and a very good boss. His name was Charles Fa and people affectionately called him Charlie.

The things I observed and learned from him became instrumental in career success and had a lifelong impact. He liked to tell stories and often used wartime analogies. He told me in the first week, “A good general always inspects his ground before he goes to war”, asking me to spend more time in the manufacturing area and research lab than in the office. He would visit the manufacturing area many times a day and politely ask if he can be of any assistance. He would take me to suppliers and would spend hours explaining how materials and machines were manufactured. Understanding those things helped immensely in effective process development.

Many times he assisted with setting up an experiment by adjusting tools or loading carriers with silicon wafers. He would also give another world war analogy about how conscious people were about using every little resource (even pins and papers) carefully. “Treat everything you use wisely as someone has entrusted you with their belongings”, he would say.

One time I made a stupid (very stupid) mistake that resulted in many broken wafers and caused delay in the development of process. I thought “This is the End. What will I do without a job?” Instead he and his boss comforted me and told me that I was working too many hours (14+) and needed some rest. Instead of writing up a warning or reassigning me to another job, they showed confidence in me; he brought a box of new wafers (material) and asked me to proceed with the next experimental run. That made all the difference in my confidence and excellent results that followed.

Charlie had a deep emotional sensitivity and caring side. When I was looking to buy a car, he came with me to the dealer and negotiated a good price. One time while I was in the middle of loading antimony powder (a toxic chemical) filled tube for a process, someone at the other end prematurely turned on the gas and all the powder flew on my face. He immediately came to my assistance and then insisted to take me to an emergency clinic even though I insisted I was OK. He not only drove me there but waited for hours until I was discharged late in the evening and then took me home. After that He would make sure that I attended follow up doctor’s appointments.

Reflection: Little did I know at the time that years before (in 1968) Charles Fa was cofounder of one pioneering Silicon Valley Memory Company. After he had left the company, he was approached by our General Manager who had known him from past work association and requested him to help us out. Charlie never talked about his past accomplishments. I found out about them only six months into my job from a speaker while attending an external conference.

Charlie had a childlike simplicity and a funny side that people liked. There was a lab technician named Fatima whom Charlie addressed as Veronica. While laughing she said “Charlie, How many times I told you I am Fatima.” Charlie said “Gee I am so sorry Veronica, next time I will call you Fatima.” She knew he was having light hearted humor and tapped him on his hand and said “Remember from now on.” Next time before opening the door to that lab, Charlie stopped, looked at me and smiled “Veronica right?” I knew what he was doing. He laughed and said lets go and see Fatima.

Often one would find Charlie mingling with manufacturing workers and technicians in the cafeteria about work, life and would notice their happy faces.

One more unforgettable signature item from Charlie. Whenever he would want to say something special, he would pull me in the corner and say, “Between you, me and the door post”. Many times it wasn’t confidential but Charlie would still do that while pointing at the door post. Once while he was on his signature line one maintenance guy noticed and jokingly screamed “Hey Charlie you are that  doorpost thing again?.” Charlie pulled me farther into the corner and continued.

PS: Synchronicity or what? I had planned to publish this reflection for a while. Two weeks ago, I saw a message in an email account I had not accessed for a while, there was a message from someone with the last name Fa; one of his children.

To: info@fridayreflections.com

Dear Mr. Shah:

We were doing a google search on our late father, Charles Fa, and came across your mention of him here: https://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/take_risks/page/8/

It was thrilling to hear about something he said to you that you still recall.

Although our father passed away over 4 years ago, we still miss him a great deal.

We would love to hear any other memories you have from working with him.

Thank you so much!

……………… Fa

Charlie: Between You, Me and the doorpost: the lessons I learnt from You about emotional connections, simplicity, managing resources, trusting your employees and fighting a war (doing your work) by being in the field (manufacturing and labs) were valuable. To live in the hearts you left behind was a well lived life.

Comments

[A Different Experience]

Ha Ha .. my first teach me a greatest lesson that at work, you decide your own destiny ... and no one is indispensible 😂
When I was offered an internal job by other dept, I discuss w him, he told me "if I hv a dog went over to my neighbour house; I will shoot the dog !" ... and in my mind at that time , this was what I felt "If I hv a dog went over to neighbour, I should wonder why it is doing that and not simply blane the dog ... " however I was very disappointed at that moment that I was too lazy to argue with him ... at the end I stay but the my respect to him has gone.

[Madhuri]

My first boss at Intel was Ed Ramsay. He had a wide smile and a calming persona. I could not have asked for a better person to help me transition from the research environment of Oakridge Natl labs to the complex world that is Intel. Yes a first boss is key in allowing you to assimilate and decide if you are in the right place.

[“Young and Restless“]

great one; I had a pretty amazing early boss as well 😎👍

[LEE ANN Moore]

Excellent write up Anand. Very touching and left me with a great smile. I had so many wonderful bosses through my years it would take a book to remember them all. But there always is that first one.

[sujat]

Lovely! A truly encouraging "boss" is effectively an angel in disguise. S/he is a *mentor*! If this is so, even a possibly lower salary (temporarily) as is initially perceived by us could prove to be a >>precious investment<<. I.e. if we can see it with the appropriate attitude and if we can see the larger picture of our career.. as well as of our life. For in effect, what we are gaining is guided practical training in the advancement of our career skills along with an sumptuously hefty "stipend". It depends how we choose to see.

I respect all such mentors in the form of "bosses".

[Pinoy Former Colleague]

Oh that was a very good precedent experience and the reason why you carried that attitude to Rayhteon Manila. Is your former boss Charles a chinese origin? Wondering where is James Boyd now ?

[A note from Sharon]

Great story! You’re an excellent storyteller!

[Robert Eddy]

HI: Jim Boyd lives in Thailand now. Haven't talked to him in years but that where he lived then.

[FE-Japan]

What a tribute to your former boss, Anand! From reading your post, Charlie deserved it!😍

[DHARA K TRIVEDI]

Great Story and Hope you are doing well. Amazed to see you still remember every small details after so many years.!! I look forward to read Fridayreflections...:)

[chiaoju]

After reporting in for my first job, and when I told my colleagues who I was going to report to, many said that I was really lucky as I've gotten myself a good boss. But because he would be my first boss, many then said that I would suffer later in life as many bosses are not like him. *haha*

And I guess they were right. :) Especially after leaving the first company I've worked for.

It is tough to find bosses that would genuinely think of your well-being and have every good intention to help you succeed in your career. I was lucky enough to be given opportunities to grow and develop skills that have helped me be who I am today.

I remembered my first 1:1 with him where he spent a bit of time to get to know me, including learning how to pronounce my name correctly and that definitely leaves an impact on me. I refuse to be called by my initials because that's not my name (FYI, it's a common practice here) and quite frankly, I've had Malaysian colleagues that refuse to learn my name and decides how they should call me... or have been calling me by the wrong name for years! *haha*. With the respect he has given me even before we met face to face, I have developed an utmost respect for him.

As I continue to progress in my career, especially after I've left and went on to work for another company, I tend to look back at my previous job and the people I've had the honor to work with and realize that bosses that really wants the best for their subordinates are really hard to come by.

I consider myself really lucky to have met not only a great first boss, but also a couple more great ones thereafter, direct and indirect bosses. The lessons learned from these great people will forever stay with me, but more importantly some of these relationships have grown into friendships, and that I think is absolutely priceless.

[Sam]

Great story Anand and glad that you had such a great experience. Charles really had the best for his team and so I am sure in return, his team did everything to meet the company goals. If the leader thinks that his/her goal is just to maximize shareholder value irrespective of how it impacts it's employees, the growth will be limited. We are all driven by meaning in our life and relationships such as this help build one at work. Thanks for sharing and I can say you have continued to bring this to life with us who knew you as our leader.

[Old timer]

I agree that bosses are not chosen by us. It doesn’t mean first boss makes the most impact. Not everyone one has the same experience. You are lucky your first boss is an understanding man He cares about his people & helpful even in your personal business, may be because you are new to the US. Bosses helping you to buy a car is rare indeed. He is hands on & probably knows who are dedicated & committed, doing their best. Well, remember, bosses come & go. We need to develop different skill sets to handle different types of bosses... what a coincidence that his son wants to know more about his dad. 👍👍👍

[Joalica Peng-Shanghai]

Hi Anand, dear boss
How are you? Hope things are going on well with you, Luisa and the big family!

Thanks for sharing the story with you Charles Fa, he was such an adorable boss! tried and couldn’t post my comment in your website. But really impressed with the deep trust you and he had built upon, and he’s also a friend in life more than just boss at work. There’s an old Chinese saying, Warriors would die for those who really know them by heart! I was doing reflection in the last week about how I did as a leader of an org. Found out that although spent so much time at work and with the team, helping them to move forward in every tactical dimension, I involved too much in the technical and tactical aspect of it,
and the time I shall be spending with the people, team members beyond issue/program discussion are way less.

I was thinking of your 1:1 with every single team member around the world 1x/ 6 months. That was Such Big commitment on your side, and you showed your choice of priority on this over some other mgmt mtgs. All of sudden I think I know what I shall do to adjust and improve, and follow your lead by examples 😊

Thank you, my dear boss! and stay safe and healthy!

p.s.: picture of my family during the past Golden Week holiday. They asked me to send greetings to you!

Cheers
Joalica

[BR]

Very nice! You were very lucky to get a good boss in your first job.
I am sure it made a great difference to your career!

[NJ]

I, too did not have a choice in picking a boss on my first job. In reality, most of the time my bosses were assigned to me, not a result of my choice. My first boss at Micron is not the one who hired me due to an organization change between hiring and me reporting to work 3 months later. What is my point? We all want to have good bosses who have great management skills so we could be put on a right career growing track. However, this does not happen all the time. I had learned that while having a "bad" boss enduring all the torturing and stuff, it can be a great time to learn, too. Simply, learning what NOT to do is also important. That is, knowing what is the wrong thing to do is as important as knowing what is the right thing to do. So don't feel miserable while working with a bad boss. It is, too has a great salvaging value.

[BHSC]

Great sharing… thank you. Nice to learn about your old boss. I can see a lot of Charlie in Anand.
Take care

[Cari]

Wonderful to hear stories of great leaders and human beings. We need more Charlies in the world. Thanks for sharing.

[humble warrior]

I love this

[Hedda Robinson]

Thanks Anand.... as for me, my first boss was Dulce Casaclang..whom you knew as the HR Personnel manager. She was kind, norturing, & encouraging. With her work at Raytheon and being a teacher at Adamson--it sure made me think that if she can do these jobs, I can too. Her "can do" attitude and professionalism--inspired me to strive, focused, and finished my course along with my dad's work as a secretary to VPs in San Miguel and Atlas Mining.
Coming to America opened my eyes too--that no matter what I finished back home-I still have to learn new things and the way of life and work-in order to adapt and how things here are-- I am so glad my husband was very supportive.

[Amy]

That was a great story about Charlie, I wish I met a boss like him. I did have a great time with my first job but I made a mistake too and it went downhill from there that forced to quit! My 2nd job? Nah not a good experienced too! I like what I do at my current employer because I am celebrating my 24 years, 3 months, 19 days and 8 hours 😄😄😄

[Mina Chan]

Thanks Anand for the sharing of your experience of your first boss Charlie Fa and how impactful he was. In my experience, a boss who cares about the subordinates and takes care of the subordinates' interests gets loyalty and trust in return. This makes all the difference in workplace performance.