A Life Wasted

Unix Based Research 1983

Before they went out of business I visited the offices of Diversified Data Systems. It was an impressive facility with lots of polished wood and shiny technology. It was also expensive. I was determined not to repeat their mistake so I opted to do without an office. All of our customers had big Altos computers with all the goodies loaded on them and I didn't have any. I had seven talented programmers, a secretary/bookkeeper, a technical writer, and myself. What I didn't have was a computer. None at all. By this point I could afford any computer I wanted, even an Altos, but the reality was that I didn't need one. One the things DDS had done wrong was to double bill their programmers hours. They got away with this because most of the coding was done in DDS's office, so the customer didn't see the programmers most of the time. From the beginning I decided to overcome the trust issue and keep my overhead down by having all of our billable work done at the customer's site. The customers loved this. They could see the working being done so confidence was rebuilt.

The other thing I did to restore confidence was to poll the programmers about which customers they'd been most involved with and which ones they got along with the best. Everyone had favorites so I placed them where they were most comfortable. For the most part each programmer went to the same customer site every day and called in their hours to my secretary. When someone had a problem we'd add the necessary personal to that location to get the job done. It was a great system. The customers loved it and moral among our people was great. So we didn't lose touch with each other we met once a week at a local Denney's for lunch and an informal business meeting. It was going very well. The only problem we had was too much work. I had the same complaint from my staff that I did from my wife--we worked too many hours. Since we billed every hour we worked I didn't see why that was a problem. Of course my wife had a different idea about this as did the spouses of my programmers. The only programmer that didn't complain was my only female coder, Rebecca. Rebecca's husband was an officer in the Navy and since he was deployed at the time she loved having something constructive to do and loved saving all the money she earned. However, everyone else complained and it was a constant sore point.

One of our customers was the largest construction company in Virginia. It was a rather diversified company and their computer needs were complex. DDS had left them in a terrible position so I put my best guy there and focused most of my time there as well, at $90 an hour. It took some time but the construction company was impressed with our results. Their accounting firm was impressed too. Their accounting firm was Goodman & Company, a large firm ranked as the 35th (I think) largest accounting firm in the country. Goodman & Company was so impressed with the job we did for their construction company client they set up a meeting with me and made an extraordinary offer.

Like everyone else alive at the time, the managing partner of Goodman & Company wanted a piece of the computer industry pie. In me they saw their opportunity. What they wanted was to absorb my company into theirs. They wanted my programmers and my customers, but mostly they wanted me. In our first meeting they were very clear about this. In me they saw raw entrepreneurial spirit, which was exactly what they believed they needed. Their offer was to give me an entire floor of their building and complete autonomy to operate their computer division however I saw fit. I would absorb their existing computer division and could change it however I wanted, hire and fire as I thought best. They presented a compensation package that blew my mind. I couldn't be a partner in their accounting firm because I didn't have an accounting degree, but I could be ... I don't recall the term they used, perhaps associate partner, whatever, it meant I'd be a partner in everything but title. I would have a large salary and would share in bonuses at the partner level. Being an accounting firm they came to the meeting with projections. According to those I would likely make much as the managing partner since my bonuses would be based on my earning, which they expected to be impressive. Not only would I have my existing customers, but I would also add their entire customer base to mine for business. They also added a merger bonus that would be based on how many programmers I brought with me and the value of the customers I brought as well. They set a cap on this bonus at $100,000.

Remember that this was 1983, $100,000 was a fortune. Their offer was a base salary of $150,000, plus luxury company car, club memberships, paid medical and paid vacations, plus bonuses that were projected to reach $200,000 in the first year. They were so confident that my department would be a money maker that there was a clause in the contract that stipulated my bonus couldn't exceed that of the managing partner for the first two years. They fully expected my bonus to push seven figures in four to five years. After all the numbers they gave me a tour that included a visit to "my floor" and introductions to all the partners. I was overwhelmed. When they asked if I had any questions I said, "You need to know I never went to high school." They laughed at this and told me they knew everything about me. They knew about my lack of education, my criminal record, my escapes and my failed business in Ohio. They knew my credit was in the toilet and that I didn't have a credit card. They had thoroughly vetted me before presenting their offer. I asked why they wanted me when they knew about my baggage. The managing partner looked me in the eye and said, "I also know your IQ. And I watched you fix the most messed up computer systems I've ever seen using the same programmers who couldn't fix it without you. You had your business destroyed in Ohio then two months later you put together the strongest software team in the area. There's not another company in Tidewater that can match your talent. Not IBM, not the Navy, nor any of the many contractors here. You're a wild risk taker and we'll likely have to employ a full-time accountant to keep you out of trouble. If we can do that, then you'll make a great deal of money for all of us. What more do we need to know about you."

It took me about ten seconds to except their offer with one condition: I had to ask my wife. This brought smiles and polite laughter. What wife wouldn't agree with this offer? The answer is my wife. Mary didn't agree. I too was shocked when she said no. I don't mean that my always supportive wife was on the fence. I mean she said no. I couldn't accept their offer. When I told her I'd already accepted it she told me to retract it. Why, I asked her. Because she knew me so well that she knew I'd be miserable working for an accounting firm. She didn't care about the money, but yes, she would love the banker's hours and the stability. But she firmly believed I would be miserable working for anyone, no mater how perfect the situation. She ended by telling me I still needed to cut back on my hours and spend more time at home, but I couldn't go to work for anyone. I was meant to work for myself.

I doubt our children have heard this story because it's not exciting and didn't represent a direction change for us. I'll admit it's not one of my most interesting stories. I've included it in my memoir so my children will better understand their mother and so that the reader will begin to grasp what an extraordinary woman I am married to. I called Goodman & Company the next morning and told them the truth. I couldn't accept their generous offer because my wife wouldn't let me. I don't think they believed me. I doubt most people would. In our long marriage this is the only time my wife put her foot down and said no to an idea or business move I wanted to make. And I did want to make this one. But I trusted her judgment and deep down knew she was right. I would have been miserable having my own floor in an office building and all the stability that went with it. I would have hated not being able to take risk. My wife understood this about me and loved me enough to not allow me to make that mistake.

What a great woman she is.
Goodman and Company had vetted me well but they ignored my wife. They wouldn't be the last to underestimate Mary. Later I'll tell you about a time when I was an FBI 10 Most Wanted fugitive and the FBI's famed profilers devised a plan to capture me. Their plan involved upsetting Mary so she would tell me and unwittingly lure me into a trap. Like Goodman & Company, the FBI had profiled me but ignored Mary. As the FBI profilers later told me, they learned a valuable lesson in my case. Next time they'd profile the wife too. That one's a great story that you'll love. Stay tuned.