esrosedotblog

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Ken Olsen, Who Built DEC Into a Power, Dies at 84

I made a lot of money out of Ken Olsen.

His was one of the first big companies to adopt our training programs when we started our company in 1973.

He was an autocratic manager but he sought to make his company's managers flexible in how they dealt with other people. Autocratic leadership is OK until it isn't and Olsen had a grasp of that concept even though he could not practice it himself.

His insistence on his way or the highway led to the end of his company. He did not believe that PCs were any more than toys for gamers.

Digital did, however, contribute majorly to a necessary phase of the computer's evolution. They made and designed mini-computers and systems which took the industry away from the huge mainframe and brought the equipment into the office directly.

We were in that company a long time. They had their own trainers but then would hire us to do the work anyway. They bought a bunch of books.

I remember once that Ken showed up at one of our seminars. The trainer called all in a panic about it. He came, he watched, he kept his mouth shut and he left. What more could you want from him? And there were no followups of any kind that I know of.

DEC or Digital was ahead of its time in other matters as well. We had a contract trainer working there who, somehow, made what was considered an inappropriate remark or two to an attractive participant. We got a call and he was out of there within the hour. Never to return again. It was a zero tolerance climate for sexism or any other form of illiberal behavior.

I would run into people from DEC all the time when I lived in Boston. Inevitably they would turn out to have gone to one of our Programs. It was a nice feeling to see that reach in the area where I lived. More often, big clients were away somewhere around the world.

I never met Olsen. I only knew him by reputation and dedication to our stuff.

May he rest in peace. I am probably still spending some of his money.

Labels: technology