Memories of Steve Jobs from Brian Portzel
Those of you who worked in the LA office may remember Brian. Big guy, blonde hair like he skied down Alps all day, rosy cheeks and totally devoid of the ability to even THINK anything unkind about anyone, let alone say something unkind. (Wait a minute, the vision of a late-middle-aged lady just came into my head.)
I remember a time when we had to make some major layoffs at the office. I looked at my list of employees and decided that I had to cut the fewest people, which meant going after the ones with the most seniority. That meant Brian. When I told him, it was as if I had killed his puppy. He would have walked on nails for Chiat/Day.
It's one of the worst business decisions I ever made in my life. But in the frenzy of layoffs, when the CFO types are yelling at you, you panic. I certainly panicked. I've made a person apology to Brian, but I wanted to say something here.
So what brings this all up now? Because Brian just sent me his fond remembrance of working at Chiat/Day ...
Hi Steve,
I don't recall ever feeling so sad at the passing of someone I didn't physically know but had an almost philosophical bond with as Steve Jobs. I'm now 50 something! Regardless of what most of the other folks say, the truth is that we(you and I) go back further than most in the IT world(it was IS then. I think back to the Biltmore Hotel from time to time fondly as well. Remember Roger, or what about Steve's wife, Leslie, are they still married? It was always a little odd going to work in a Hotel. We even had computers stored in old bathrooms with cement in the drains to keep the smell out. I think I was one of the first of the "new" IT folks, Jay had just put you in charge and I solved that system 36 problem for you so you hired me. I doubt anyone except you and I even remembers the system 36. Does anyone really have a clue what we went through in those days to keep things working, the long nights, "reorging files" from mag tape machines or our huge 288mg removable disk drives!! Let's not forget Rob McCarthy in beautiful downtown Bakersfield. What about the moves and office designs. I remember fondly renting a jack hammer and trenching a ditch across the alley between the Warehouse and the Antioch building in order to get the Wang Network pieces in (A and B units with the lovely Headend). Oh well, just my two cents.
THANK YOU,
Brian Portzel