When Jack Gifford, the irrepressible founder of Maxim, who sadly died last year, was to be fired from Intersil, where he headed up the company's biggest revenue and profit division, the Chairman of Intersil, Fred Adler, went about things in a way which would give compliance-conscious modern HR departments an absolute fit.
"I am going to take a piss", Fred told Jack, "and when I come back I want you to tell me why I should not fire you, because I intend to."
Typically, Gifford wasn't taking that sort of crap and walked out of the building.
Adler chased after him into the parking lot shouting that he wanted an explanation.
"You do not deserve any explanation", said Gifford.
Later on, according to Bo Lojek in his magnificent History of Semiconductor Engineering, another Intersil product manager, Roger Smullen persuaded Gifford to meet Adler.
A conciliatory Adler gave Gifford more stock options and persuaded him to stay on at Intersil.
Lojek's book might be magnificent, but it is also a magnificent £81 or $120. Or is that an Amazon joke? Even a confirmed book addict like me stalls at that sort of price.
Well it cost me £60, Dick, probably about what you pay for dinner - and it lasts longer.
Not often I pay £60 for dinner. Not like the old days when I took hacks to lunch at Langans and £60 per head didn't go very far.
Nice story about Intersil and Jack Gifford, but to describe him as irresponsible especially since he has died is unfair. In Ireland where I come come from we dont speak ill of the dead. Jack was a pragmatic Founder of Maxim.
He was described as irrepressible, Kevin, a very different quality to irresponisble