“Man, are you even here?,” Barry Issberner scowled at me, 45 minutes in to a team meeting on my second day at Symbol Technologies, in Bohemia, Long Island.
Great piece, Girish. I joined Symbol in '97, and so missed quite a few of the seminal moments early on. What I remember most from the time was being fiercely proud of being a part of such an incredibly talented engineering team. That team made it's mistakes, but not often and mostly in a way that accentuated how amazing their successes were.
One more anecdote. On MY “second” day in NY after I relocated from CA, I inherited a screwed up project. Suddenly Ray Martino, President, stood in my door and loudly proclaimed “Issberner you’re fucking up again!” I had never met him till that moment. He then sat down and asked my opinion on the matter and said, “how can I help?”
I am truly humbled that I made it into the first sentence! I recall your young analyst self asking me unusually penetrating insightful questions. “Have you considered joining a vendor team? How about coming to our side?” I threw you into your responsibilities as my mentors had done, gave you as much guidance as I could offer, and as you soon learned the “Sun of Swartz” and his exec team would burn you alive if you didn’t catch on fast! When you rocketed well past my capabilities I was duly proud. When you recruited me back to the “Symbol” then Moto, then Zebra team I was duly grateful. When you leaped into your first CEO role of the BY team I remember saying “Congratulations my friend, you’ve done pretty good for a Jr Product Manager”. Best Regards Always.
We are getting to the of recalling “when we were young “. Was it really better? Don’t know. But the friendship of 21 years lasted. And with more people that you could ever expect it. So something must have been right!!!!
Fun to read a chapter from the eventual autobiography, which is a much better use of your elephant's memory than shaming those of us who forget too quickly with impossibly precise dates and recollections. This chapter will become mandatory reading for my sons, with a mega theme of “seek places where you fit, and that fit you”. You were lucky to find in the Symbol of the day a culture that was "loud, animated and argumentative"… a perfect fit.
Thank you, Girish. Goosebumps. We have only one life to live and to have been able to experience all of these things in such a short time is lucky indeed. I appreciate the memories sewn with your threads of advice and guidance!
Girish , You are blessed with an art of lucidly explaining your point of view, sharing your life lessons and experiences. You weave a compelling narrative for readers to hook on to your blog. In a smaller proportion, I use similar traits in building my teams and raising my kids . Being in Gilbert AZ, I am sure some time soon, I will have an opportunity to meet and share more.
Great piece, Girish. I joined Symbol in '97, and so missed quite a few of the seminal moments early on. What I remember most from the time was being fiercely proud of being a part of such an incredibly talented engineering team. That team made it's mistakes, but not often and mostly in a way that accentuated how amazing their successes were.
You have a remarkable writing style and gifted.
One more anecdote. On MY “second” day in NY after I relocated from CA, I inherited a screwed up project. Suddenly Ray Martino, President, stood in my door and loudly proclaimed “Issberner you’re fucking up again!” I had never met him till that moment. He then sat down and asked my opinion on the matter and said, “how can I help?”
I am truly humbled that I made it into the first sentence! I recall your young analyst self asking me unusually penetrating insightful questions. “Have you considered joining a vendor team? How about coming to our side?” I threw you into your responsibilities as my mentors had done, gave you as much guidance as I could offer, and as you soon learned the “Sun of Swartz” and his exec team would burn you alive if you didn’t catch on fast! When you rocketed well past my capabilities I was duly proud. When you recruited me back to the “Symbol” then Moto, then Zebra team I was duly grateful. When you leaped into your first CEO role of the BY team I remember saying “Congratulations my friend, you’ve done pretty good for a Jr Product Manager”. Best Regards Always.
We are getting to the of recalling “when we were young “. Was it really better? Don’t know. But the friendship of 21 years lasted. And with more people that you could ever expect it. So something must have been right!!!!
Fun to read a chapter from the eventual autobiography, which is a much better use of your elephant's memory than shaming those of us who forget too quickly with impossibly precise dates and recollections. This chapter will become mandatory reading for my sons, with a mega theme of “seek places where you fit, and that fit you”. You were lucky to find in the Symbol of the day a culture that was "loud, animated and argumentative"… a perfect fit.
Thank you, Girish. Goosebumps. We have only one life to live and to have been able to experience all of these things in such a short time is lucky indeed. I appreciate the memories sewn with your threads of advice and guidance!
Girish , You are blessed with an art of lucidly explaining your point of view, sharing your life lessons and experiences. You weave a compelling narrative for readers to hook on to your blog. In a smaller proportion, I use similar traits in building my teams and raising my kids . Being in Gilbert AZ, I am sure some time soon, I will have an opportunity to meet and share more.
Best regards
Mohan krishna
Well said! great reflections, thanks for taking the time to write & share on behalf of the 90s Symbol alumni - Gary