DOCSLIB.ORG

Nick Donofrio the IBM Years

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Nick Donofrio the IBM Years Nick Donofrio The IBM Years 1 The IBM Years, The Nicholas Donofrio Story; Celera Search LLC The Nick Donofrio Story Several years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Nick at The Kittle House in Chappaqua, NY one of his favorite restaurants near his home. As a favor to Dr. Pedro Aspe former Minister of Finance, Mexico and a board member of McGraw-Hill, I had an exploratory meeting with Nick to see if he might consider joining the board of McGraw-Hill. Earlier that summer I met with Dr. Aspe at his office in Mexico City. In 1993-4 I placed Dr. Aspe on the board of McGraw-Hill and he and I were catching up on things. During our discussion he talked about the changing nature of McGraw-Hill’s business. He was concerned about the challenges facing legacy based publishing companies like McGraw-Hill. He sensed the company needed to have a visionary tech- nologist on the board to help them transition into the digital age. Someone who understood the enabling power of technology and could play an important role guiding, directing and help reshape the company so it could thrive in the future. Nick Donofrio, had recently retired from IBM after a 44 year career. He was an EVP who led IBM’s technology and innovation strategies from 1997 until his retirement in October 2008. His most recent responsibilities included IBM Research, Govern- mental Programs, Technical Support & Quality, Corporate Community Relations, as well as Environmental Health & Product Safety. Also reporting to Mr. Donofrio were the senior executives responsible for IBM's enterprise on demand transformation. In 2008 IBM Chairman Sam Palmisano elected Nick IBM Fellow, the company’s highest technical honor. After being hired full time at IBM in 1967, he spent the early part of his career in integrated circuit and chip development as a designer of logic and memory chips. He held numerous technical management positions and, later, executive positions in several of IBM's product divisions. He has led many of IBM's major development and manufacturing teams – from semiconductor and storage technolo- gies, to microprocessors and personal computers, to IBM's entire family of servers which in 1992-93 represented more than half of IBM’s global business revenue. On November 21, 2011 I had my first of numerous interviews with Nick at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. In the interim, Celera Search has conducted more than 15 hours of interviews with Nick which we are presenting in four parts and featuring on the Celera Search website. Part I, The Formative Years introduces the reader to Nick’s ancestry and upbringing leading up to being hired full time at IBM in 1967. This section, Part II covers his 44 year career at IBM. Part III covers his Post Career Activities serving on boards, as a highly sought after advisor and independent consultant. Part IV examines his insights into topical issues relevant to key decision makers across the private and public sector. Grant P. Lussier Grant P Lussier is the Managing Partner of Celera Search a small boutique executive retained search firm that specializes in recruiting executives and board directors familiar with large scale innovation and transformation initiatives. The firm works with some of the world’s most prominent Global 2000 companies and Mr. Lussier is recognized by industry insiders as an influ- ential senior level executive search consultant. He is also the Chairman and founding member of Celera Partners Transfor- mation Advisory Services, LLC (TAS) a consultancy that assists CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and corporate boards undertaking large, risky IT transformation and modernization initiatives. TAS and its Advisory Board is composed of a distinguished array of preeminent retired and current CIOs, business leaders and consultants. These thought leaders provide valuable insights on innovation and best practices for the business of technology and corporate governance. Via the combination of Celera Search and Celera Partners Transformation Advisory Services, Mr. Lussier has worked extensively with business leaders on large scale change management projects with a focus on reconceptualizing business models, reconfiguring value chains and business pro- cesses. During the past twenty years, Mr. Lussier has established a broad base network of distinguished CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and influencers across most industry segments in the private as well as public sector. Prior to Celera Search, Mr. Lussier was the founding partner of the Mexico Offices for both Heidrick & Struggles and Spencer Stuart. Prior to Hedrick & Struggles, Mr. Lussier worked as a strategy consultant with Arthur D. Little where he focused on strategic and operating issues in the financial services, technology, consumer products industries and the privatization of Mexico’s state owned industries. Mr. Lussier was born and raised in Argentina and received a B.A. degree in International Relations from Brown University. He is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English. Upon graduation, Grant was the founder and for 11 years the CEO of 3XM, Inc. a pioneer in the CAD-CAM CNC software industry. 2 The IBM Years, The Nicholas Donofrio Story; Celera Search LLC The IBM Years Part II of Nick’s story focuses on his 44 years at IBM, and the evolution of his career. During his tenure he worked for seven of IBM’s eight CEOs. In 1967 when Nick joined IBM, Thomas Watson Jr. was the CEO of IBM. The following represents one of our numerous discussions with Nick. In Part II we examine Nick’s distinguished career with IBM, the company he loves more than any other. We pick up where we left off in Part I, and now it is the early ’70s. Having moved his family to Burlington, Vermont, Nick finds that the business of technology is changing very quickly. We start by inquiring what it was like at IBM during his early years: Nick worked for 7 of IBM’s 8 CEOs Grant Lussier: How would you Nick Donofrio: Oh, no, gosh, characterize the culture of IBM probably a hundred other labs. at the time that you joined the IBM grew very wildly through company? the ’70s. It was very successful; they were doing a lot of hiring 1 and building labs all over the Nick Donofrio: It was definitely world—in Japan, and Taiwan, in a “command-control” type of 1 2 Europe, also Latin America. culture, with lots of directives. They had a big presence in Bra- That aspect of the company zil, Mexico and Argentina. didn’t appeal to me much, but 5 of course, I listened and did what I was told. I understood 4 Grant Lussier: What was the the hierarchy. Before Frank logic to this expansion? Cary, Vincent (Vin) Learson was 3 6 the Chairman and CEO in the early ’70s. He was a tough guy. Nick Donofrio: The thesis was CEOs of their generation would that there are smart people every- say things like “I do not want to where. Moreover, they were tak- see you here ever again,” and ing the British Trading Compa- they meant it literally. ny approach: the thought was that IBM was needed and want- I started in Burlington in ’71, 7 8 ed in many countries, and of and we were there for nine course we could import and ex- years. Toward the end of that 1. Thomas Watson Sr. 5. John Opel port, but the tariffs were huge. time was when I first became an 2. Thomas Watson Jr. 6. John Akers But it’s a different story when executive. I was one of the top 3. Vincent Learson 7. Lou Gerstner you build your product there. It six or seven people reporting to 4. Frank Cary 8. Sam Palmisano was an interesting protective the lab director. So I was manag- strategy. IBM headed for the ing a specific function in the countries that were hot. We were Burlington lab, in which I’d in Brazil, with the thought that it grown up as a technical person. was going to grow quickly, as well as Argentina and Mexico. And then it formed the whole Latin American strategy around those three countries. They were pretty good at Grant Lussier: At this time IBM probably had what, four figuring that kind of program out. I can’t begin to tell you or five labs? how many plants we had in Japan. And eventually we had 3 The IBM Years, The Nicholas Donofrio Story; Celera Search LLC to close them all. After the fast-moving ’60s and ’70s, then we Anyhow, it wasn’t long before I was told that my family and I hit the slower-moving ’80s, and we hit the wall. would be moving to Manassas, Virginia. My kids were still in elementary school, and it was not easy to move them to a new town and school, but we went. The plant in Virginia was a In 1980, I was an executive reporting to the lab director. I test and packaging plant, and I ran the general technology was told that I would be going to White Plains to work for side of the operation. Although I was a lab guy, and not really Jack Kueheler, the president of the General Technology Divi- a manufacturing guy, I thought, “Alright, fine.” I oversaw sion. I would be the division’s planning director. I said, “I about three thousand people. don’t know planning; I have no skills,” and was told “Don’t worry about that; we’ll teach you that.” So it was a training job. IBM was fa- My wife and I loved the area. We found a mous for rotating staff and investing in tiny little house in a cute little develop- people.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All Rights Reserved. Memorial Tributes: Volume 14
    Memorial Tributes: Volume 14 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Memorial Tributes: Volume 14 JACK D. KUEHLER 1932–2008 Elected in 1984 “For outstanding engineering, technical, and management leadership in applying leading-edge computer technology to innovative data processing products.” BY NICHOLAS M. DONOFRIO JACK KUEHLER, an electrical engineer and former president and vice chairman of the IBM Corporation, died on December 20, 2008, in Rancho Santa Fe, California. He was 76. Hired in 1958 as an associate engineer at IBM’s San Jose Research Laboratory, Jack went on to become the highest- ranking technologist at IBM and a mentor to a generation of IBM managers and technical professionals. He guided IBM’s highly successful launch into the open-standard workstation computing marketplace and was the architect of a series of alliances that not only restored IBM’s position as a global technology leader but also shored up America’s technological competitiveness. Jack was revered by the global IBM technical community, not only for his leadership, intellect, and warm manner but also for his example. He was the first engineer to become IBM president, a standout in a company whose senior executives normally rose through the sales or marketing ranks. He also was IBM’s most senior proponent of “wild ducks,” an IBM term for engineers and other technical employees who refused to accept the status quo. 177 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Memorial Tributes: Volume 14 178 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES Jack was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1932. He studied mechanical engineering at Santa Clara University and also earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the university.
    [Show full text]
  • Nick Donofrio the IBM Years
    Nick Donofrio The IBM Years 1 The IBM Years, The Nicholas Donofrio Story; Celera Search LLC The Nick Donofrio Story Several years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Nick at The Kittle House in Chappaqua, NY one of his favorite restaurants near his home. As a favor to Dr. Pedro Aspe former Minister of Finance, Mexcio and a board member of McGraw-Hill, I had an exploratory meeting with Nick to see if he might consider joining the board of McGraw-Hill. Earlier that summer I met with Dr. Aspe at his office in Mexico City. In 1993-4 I placed Dr. Aspe on the board of McGraw-Hill and he and I were catching up on things. During our discussion he talked about the changing nature of McGraw-Hill’s business. He was concerned about the challenges facing legacy based publishing companies like McGraw-Hill. He sensed the company needed to have a visionary tech- nologist on the board to help them transition into the digital age. Someone who understood the enabling power of technology and could play an important role guiding, directing and help reshape the company so it could thrive in the future. Nick Donofrio, had recently retired from IBM after a 44 year career. He was an EVP who led IBM’s technology and innovation strategies from 1997 until his retirement in October 2008. His most recent responsibilities included IBM Research, Govern- mental Programs, Technical Support & Quality, Corporate Community Relations, as well as Environmental Health & Product Safety. Also reporting to Mr. Donofrio were the senior executives responsible for IBM's enterprise on demand transformation.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?
    Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Leading a Great Enterprise Through Dramatic Change Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. This book is dedicated to the thousands of IBMers who never gave up on their company, their colleagues, and themselves. They are the real heroes of the reinvention of IBM. Contents Foreword vii Introduction 1 PART I-GRABBING HOLD 7 1 The Courtship 9 2 The Announcement 18 3 Drinking from a Fire Hose 29 4 Out to the Field 41 5 Operation Bear Hug 49 6 Stop the Bleeding (and Hold the Vision) 56 7 Creating the Leadership Team 73 8 Creating a Global Enterprise 83 9 Reviving the Brand 88 10 Resetting the Corporate Compensation Philosophy 93 11 Back on the Beach 103 PART II-STRATEGY 111 12 A Brief History of IBM 113 13 Making the Big Bets 121 14 ServicesÐthe Key to Integration 128 15 Building the World's Already Biggest Software Business 136 16 Opening the Company Store 146 17 Unstacking the Stack and Focusing the Portfolio 153 18 The Emergence of e-business 165 19 Reflections on Strategy 176 PART III-CULTURE 179 20 On Corporate Culture 181 21 An Inside-Out World 189 22 Leading by Principles 200 PART IV-LESSONS LEARNED 217 23 FocusÐYou Have to Know (and Love) Your Business 219 24 ExecutionÐStrategy Goes Only So Far 229 25 Leadership Is Personal 235 26 Elephants Can Dance 242 27 IBMÐa Farewell 253 APPENDICES 259 Appendix AÐThe Future of e-business 261 Appendix BÐFinancial Overview 277 Index 287 ABOUT THE AUTHOR CREDITS COVER COPYRIGHT ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Foreword have never said to myself, ªGee, I think I want to write a I book.º I am not a book writer.
    [Show full text]
  • Oral History of Paul Castrucci
    Oral History of Paul Castrucci Interviewed by: David Laws Recorded: July 18, 2008 Mountain View, California CHM Reference number: X4943.2009 © 2008 Computer History Museum Oral History of Paul Castrucci David Laws: …I am David Laws and I am with the Semiconductor Special Interest Group here at the Computer History Museum. Today is July the 18th, 2008 and we are going to interview Paul Castrucci, who spent 30 years with IBM, about his life and career in the semiconductor industry. So thank you for joining us Paul. Paul Castrucci: It's my pleasure. Laws: I would like to start with some background on your family and your early life and how you got interested in science and technology. Castrucci: I come from a small town in upstate New York on the Mohawk River called St. Johnsville, New York, and it's a very small town with about 2,500 people in it. And it had an effect on my career when I went to college and I'll talk about that. And so let me start with my father. My father came to the United States through Ellis Island when he was 17 with $25.00 in his pocket. He only went to school two years, didn't know any English, reading it or writing. He knew numbers. He was like the patriarch and he got a job working on a canal in Albany, New York because his uncle was there, and they gave him a job as water boy. And the first week they got paid, he was really proud of that.
    [Show full text]
  • Apple Confidential 2.0 the Definitive History of the World's Most Colorful
    vi Reviewers love Apple Confidential “The Apple story itself is here in all its drama.” New York Times Book Review “An excellent textbook for Apple historians.” San Francisco Chronicle “Written with humor, respect, and care, it absolutely is a must-read for every Apple fan.” InfoWorld “Pretty much irresistible is the only way to describe this quirky, highly detailed and illustrated look at the computer maker’s history.” The Business Reader Review “The book is full of basic facts anyone will appreciate. But it’s also full of interesting extras that Apple fanatics should love.” Arizona Republic “I must warn you. This 268-page book is hard to put down for a MacHead like me, and probably you too.” MacNEWS “You’ll love this book. It’s a wealth of information.” AppleInsider “Rife with gems that will appeal to Apple fanatics and followers of the computer industry.” Amazon.com “Mr. Linzmayer has managed to deliver, within the confines of a single book, just about every juicy little tidbit that was ever leaked from the company.” MacTimes “The most entertaining book about Apple yet to be published.” Booklist i …and readers love it too! “Congratulations! You should be very proud. I picked up Apple Confidential and had a hard time putting it down. Obviously, you invested a ton of time in this. I hope it zooms off the shelves.” David Lubar, Nazareth, PA “I just read Apple Confidentialfrom cover to cover…you have written a great book!” Jason Whong, Rochester, NY “There are few books out there that reveal so much about Apple and in such a fun and entertaining manner.
    [Show full text]
  • Oral History of Watts Humphrey
    Oral History of Watts Humphrey Interviewed by: Grady Booch Recorded: June 17 - 22, 2009 Via Skype CHM Reference number: X5584.2010 © 2009 Computer History Museum Oral History of Watts Humphrey Computer History Museum Oral History for Watts S. Humphrey Topics Boeing; Team Software Process (TSP); Personal Software Process (PSP); Software Engineering Institute (SEI); Microsoft; Intuit; Embry-Riddle University; planning; Department of Defense; National Medal of Technology; agile programming; SCRUM; MOBIDIC; IBM; OS/360; FORTRAN; FAA; Watson, Thomas J, 1914-1993; Poughkeepsie; Endicott; RCA; SABRE; IBM System 360 Contributors Booch, Grady, Interviewer Humphrey, Watts S, Interviewee Spicer, Dag, Editor Publisher: Computer History Museum Date: 2009-06 Place of Publication: Skype Extent: 177 p. Collection Title: Oral Histories Online Accession Number: 102702107 CHM Ref: X5584.2010 © 2009 Computer History Museum Page 2 of 184 Oral History of Watts Humphrey Table of Contents The Oral History Background 6 The Watts Humphrey Oral History 6 Watts Humphrey Biographical Information 6 Grady Booch Biographical Information 6 Day 1 AM: June 17, 2009 7 Beginnings 7 The Navy 12 College Years 13 My First Job 15 Wrestling 16 Running the Betatron 18 Sylvania 19 Northeastern University 22 Building a Computer Group 25 Applying to IBM 28 The Watson Interview 29 The Brokerage Studies 31 The FAA Bid 32 FAA Bid Pricing 35 The IBM 360 Announcement 37 IBM Time Sharing 39 Marketing the IBM Model 67 41 Day 1 PM: June 17, 2009 43 IBM Director of Programming 44 The Learson
    [Show full text]
  • Sustainable Prosperity in the New Economy?: Business Organization and High-Tech Employment in the United States
    Upjohn Press Upjohn Research home page 9-30-2009 Sustainable Prosperity in the New Economy?: Business Organization and High-Tech Employment in the United States William Lazonick University of Massachusetts, Lowell Follow this and additional works at: https://research.upjohn.org/up_press Part of the Labor Economics Commons Citation Lazonick, William. 2009. Sustainable Prosperity in the New Economy?: Business Organization and High- Tech Employment in the United States. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. https://doi.org/10.17848/9781441639851 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. This title is brought to you by the Upjohn Institute. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Sustainable Prosperity in the New Economy? Lazonick.indb 1 7/31/2009 8:42:03 AM Lazonick.indb 2 7/31/2009 8:42:35 AM Sustainable Prosperity in the New Economy? Business Organization and High-Tech Employment in the United States William Lazonick 2009 W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Kalamazoo, Michigan Lazonick.indb 3 7/31/2009 8:42:35 AM Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lazonick, William Sustainable prosperity in the new economy : business organization and high-tech employment in the United States / William Lazonick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-88099-350-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-88099-350-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-88099-351-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-88099-351-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Information technology—Economic aspects—United States. 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Oral History of Richard Case
    Oral History of Richard Case Interviewed by: Burton Grad Recorded: December 7, 2006 Westport, Connecticut CHM Reference number: X3777.2006 © 2006 Computer History Museum Table of Contents FAMILY HISTORY ...........................................................................................................................4 EDUCATION....................................................................................................................................7 EARLY COMPUTER EXPERIENCE..............................................................................................14 JOINING IBM .................................................................................................................................19 STARTING A FAMILY ...................................................................................................................20 INITIAL IBM EXPERIENCES.........................................................................................................23 THE 1410.......................................................................................................................................24 MOVING TO POUGHKEEPSIE .....................................................................................................30 THE 7040 AND 7044 .....................................................................................................................32 THE SYSTEM/360 .........................................................................................................................36 SYSTEM/370
    [Show full text]
  • Inside the IBM RISC System/6000
    Marcus Bennett Inside the IBM RISC System/6000 Marcus Bennett Inside the IBM RISC System/6000 McGRAW -HILL BOOK COMPANY London • New York • St Louis • San Francisco -Auckland Bogota • Caracas • Lisbon • Madrid • Mexico Milan • Montreal • New Delhi • Panama • Paris • San Juan Sao Paulo • Singapore • Sydney • Tokyo • Toronto Published by McGRAW-HILL Book Company Europe Shoppenhangers Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2QL, England Tel 0628 23432; Fax 0628 770224 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Bennett, Marcus Inside the IBM RISC System/6000 I. Title 004.2 ISBN 0-07-707688-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bennett, Marcus Inside the IBM RISC System/6000 / Marcus Bennett. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-07-707688-5 1. IBM RISC System/6000 computers. I. Title. QA76.8.125975B45 1993 004.165-dc20 93-13494 CIP Copyright © 1994 McGraw-Hill International (UK) Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of McGraw-Hill International (UK) Limited, with the exception of material entered and executed on a computer system for the reader's own use. 1234 CUP 9654 Typeset by Datix International Limited, Bungay, Suffolk and printed and bound in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge Contents Acknowledgements ix Preface xi Trademarks xv Conventions xvii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Open systems 1
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 16 Corporate Activities in the 1990'S
    Chapter 16 Corporate Activities in the 1990's Apple Computer The company entered the 1990’s under John Sculley’s direction with increasing sales and profits. However, in the following years the company would encounter problems resolving its product strategy. Apple could either limit the use of its proprietary technology and maintain a high profit margin, or license the technology and achieve a greater market share for it. This problem was not helped by an executive group with individual aspirations that lacked corporate cohesiveness. Gilbert Amelio has described the Apple organization as a “dysfunctional culture.” This affected the future performance and even the viability of the company. Litigation by Xerox regarding the similarity of Macintosh graphics systems to the systems developed at PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) was thrown out in early 1990. In March 1991, the Windows/Macintosh graphics litigation with Microsoft was found to be in favor of Apple Computer, only to have most of it thrown out in April 1992. In early 1991, Apple began negotiations with IBM regarding the possible use of IBM RISC microprocessor technology for a more powerful Macintosh computer. This resulted in an early announcement to form the PowerPC Alliance with IBM and Motorola in July 1991, followed by the final agreement in October (See Section 19.6). A significant decline of profits in 1993, resulted in John Sculley being replaced by Michael H. Spindler as the chief executive officer in June. Sculley became chairman of the board. Then in October, Sculley resigned from Apple Computer and joined Spectrum Information Technologies as chairman and chief executive officer.
    [Show full text]
  • Balgooyen Dismissal Reversed
    SPARTAN DAILY a Vol. 97, No. 22 Published for San lose State University since 1934 Thursday, October 3, 1991 Balgooyen KILLER KICKS dismissal reversed No malicious intent By Tony Mark Arbitrator N.Is tuff writer Kelly returned a decision stating: Thomas Balgooyen stays. IP Cause for 'he university tried to fire him on disciplinary Jan. 1, after he was convicted on two action against federal misdemeanor counts of violat- Balgooyen did ing wildlife protection laws during a exist, 1986 school sponsored field trip. "Thie pend- Balgooyen's dismissal was over- ing sanction of turned by an independent arbitrator in dismissal should Thomas a decision announced Wednesday. be modified. The Balgooyen He was placed on administrauve appropriate sanc- Wye after the notice was served, with tion is a 60-day suspension without full pay pending the arbitration deci- Pay-- sion. The pay range for a tenured asso- 0,- The university did comply with ciate professor at SJSU is S39,984 to the section of the Disciplinary Action S55.488 per year. Procedure specifying the requirements He was found guilty by a jury in for delivering the Notice of Pending November 1990 of one federal misde- Disciplinary Action to Balgooyen. meanor count of collecting a protected to Arbitrator Kelly will maintain species the Oregon Slender jurisdiction for the purpose of resolv- Salamander and one count of over- ing any disputes over implementation collection of four species as defined tithe decision. by a state permit "It was a tremendous victory, not A third guilty verdict on a count of only for me, but far the CFA.
    [Show full text]
  • Computers and People Formerly Computers and Automation
    SC\!;NC & TECHNOLOG~ 1 anuary, 1974 Vo l. 23, No. 1 computers and people formerly Computers and Automation ENERG Y CRISIS The Railroads and Computer Control James W. German y Programming Considerations for Mini's Dale Hanks Efficient Application Software for Organizations: Conrad H. Weisert Ways to Get It A Fountain of Electrical Energy Dr. Julius A. Stratton The Attempted Framing of Jim Garrison - Part 3 Ivan Dryer Naymandij: A Game for Computers and People Edmund C. Berkeley LBO A .iL IF YOU COULD PREVENT JUST ONE IMPORTANT MISTAKE BEFORE IT HAPPENED· • • HOW MUCH WOULD THAT BE WORTH TO YOU - $100? - $1000? more? Our considered estimate is that 10 to 20% or more of the cost of operation of most businesses is the cost of mistakes. (Just one foreseeable mistake that "Computers and Automation" made in 1970 has cost us $4000.) WOULDN'T YOU AGREE THAT SENSE, COMMON AND UNCOMMON, OUGHT TO BE THE KEY TO PREVENTING MISTAKES? In a number of the issues of "The Notebook on Common Sense, Elementary and Advanced", we examine systematically the prevention of mistakes, such as: No. 15: Preventing Mistakes from Failure to Understand - Volume 1, first subscription year No. 23: Preventing Mistakes from Forgetting ) No. 38: The Concepts of Feedback and Feedback Control - Volume 2, second No. 41: Preventing Mistakes from Unforeseen Hazards ) subscription year Among the forthcoming issues of the Notebook in Volume 2 are: - Preventing Mistakes from Camouflage - Preventing Mistakes from Placidity and we are planning at least 20 more issues in Volumes 2 to 4 under this general heading. WHY NOT TRY THE NOTEBOOK ON COMMON SENSE? GUARANTEE: (1) You may return (in 7 days) the PAST ISSUES: As a new subscriber, you do not miss past first batch of issues we send you, for FULL issues.
    [Show full text]