What happens when an influential executive leaves his company?
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue thought he should just step away from decision-making when he retired in September 2006. It’s a good idea, but many founders and top executives just can’t do it.
“I think generally the best way to run an organization is for the person who is running it to be in charge and for the people who had been running it previously to disappear.” - Paul Tagliabue
Intel co-founder Andy Grove has kept his distance form Intel, although he has written about the company in several books, including the textbook for my IS 7010 course.
Engadget gives us some clues about this process in an exit interview with Bill Gates. Gates has n ot left Microsoft yet, but he will step down from his day-to-day duties at Microsoft this July to focus on his philanthropic work.
He will still work on some pet Microsoft projects. My favorite bit in the article is Gates’ admission that he is never satisfied with any Microsoft product. Can Bill let go in July?
