本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛My ex-boss
Today is my ex-boss’ 25 anniversary at my current company. Hard to imagine so many years have gone by. He was the nicest, smartest and funniest man I have ever met, with all the honesty and integrity you can expect from a person at work. And may be it was just that honesty and integrity that hindered his own success – if success is measured by power and money.
I still remember my first day in the office after a 5-week long orientation. Everything was new. And there was this guy, looking exactly like the host of the early years’ American Funniest Home video. He made all the jokes and you can see people truly liked him.
He was not a manager then. After a short chat, he asked for a lunch the next day. When I came to his desk, he left me a note on his desk saying he was terribly sorry but he was having an important meeting and asked for a rain check. Well, I was just a new guy with a low profile. Nobody really cared. I felt fine. But in the afternoon, I got a phone call from him, apologizing and asked for another lunch the next day. Then we went to a Chinese restaurant across the street. I did not know until much later that he has a severe allergy to many food product and had a number of near death experience. Usually he just ate carrots as his lunch.
I was such a reserved person - have even fewer words than most Asian people. My English was poor, I could not make small talks with all the sales and managers. My first customer project was close to a disaster – the token ring to Ethernet migration thing left many scars on my back. My technical skills were never in the top ranks – I never had a chance to lead any major implementations or RFP response. My only strength was honesty and integrity. I keep my words, never bull shit.
He put so much faith in me that some times made me wonder if he trusted the wrong guy. Many years later, he told me that, after our first 10 minutes conversation, he was convinced that I was the right guy. He gained my total trust totally and I did not let him down. That long-gone practice was a success and we doubled the revenue stream year over year, until the re-org.
Today, I was the only employee sitting in the table. I am his friend, he is my mentor.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Today is my ex-boss’ 25 anniversary at my current company. Hard to imagine so many years have gone by. He was the nicest, smartest and funniest man I have ever met, with all the honesty and integrity you can expect from a person at work. And may be it was just that honesty and integrity that hindered his own success – if success is measured by power and money.
I still remember my first day in the office after a 5-week long orientation. Everything was new. And there was this guy, looking exactly like the host of the early years’ American Funniest Home video. He made all the jokes and you can see people truly liked him.
He was not a manager then. After a short chat, he asked for a lunch the next day. When I came to his desk, he left me a note on his desk saying he was terribly sorry but he was having an important meeting and asked for a rain check. Well, I was just a new guy with a low profile. Nobody really cared. I felt fine. But in the afternoon, I got a phone call from him, apologizing and asked for another lunch the next day. Then we went to a Chinese restaurant across the street. I did not know until much later that he has a severe allergy to many food product and had a number of near death experience. Usually he just ate carrots as his lunch.
I was such a reserved person - have even fewer words than most Asian people. My English was poor, I could not make small talks with all the sales and managers. My first customer project was close to a disaster – the token ring to Ethernet migration thing left many scars on my back. My technical skills were never in the top ranks – I never had a chance to lead any major implementations or RFP response. My only strength was honesty and integrity. I keep my words, never bull shit.
He put so much faith in me that some times made me wonder if he trusted the wrong guy. Many years later, he told me that, after our first 10 minutes conversation, he was convinced that I was the right guy. He gained my total trust totally and I did not let him down. That long-gone practice was a success and we doubled the revenue stream year over year, until the re-org.
Today, I was the only employee sitting in the table. I am his friend, he is my mentor.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net