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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?

Sports: Ricky Williams failed a third drug test. That’s why he retired - to avoid a four-game suspension. What a shock. Randy Hill on FSN describes how Ricky will spend the 2004 season, and it’s hilarious. He gave up $18 million because he got high.

Photos: Yahoo! Sports - Ricky Williams Retires After 5 Seasons. After 30 minutes of questioning concerning his flaky star running back, Dolphins head coach and chief apologist Dave Wannstedt gestured wildly at the south Florida media and screamed, “Back off! That’s a mean-looking dolphin behind me!” And it is, too.

Perhaps Dave’s thinking about the Dolphins’ long history of choking. Do you see a Dolphins Super Bowl ring on Dave’s hand? No. He’s got one ring from the 1992 Dallas Cowboys. And Dave hasn’t done a damn thing since.

The Miami Dolphins’ last Super Bowl appearance was in 1985, when they lost to the Niners, 38-16. Dolphins Super Bowl record: 2-3. They haven’t been close to a Super Bowl title since then. All the Fins have is 30+ year old memories of faded glory and those stupid orange jerseys they wore last season.

Before the season starts, let me remind you that Jon Gruden does have a Super Bowl ring. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers own a 1-0 Super Bowl record. That simple fact makes up for twenty years of Bucs bumbling and incompetence, IMHO.

Maybe Dave is thinking that the Bucs have a much better chance of willing another Super Bowl this season than the Dolphins do. Believe it.

USA: Ted Rall - THE O’CONNOR FACTOR: “O’Connor and Rehnquist read the papers. They know that there’s a better than even chance that John Kerry will win. Both justices, having missed their chance to retire under Bush, are chancing getting replaced by Kerry instead. Their conclusion is obvious: the United States, and their legacies, would be better served by liberal Democrats than the brand of rightist extremists who would be appointed by George W. Bush. This year, O’Connor may remark ‘this is terrible’ again — if Bush wins. ”

USA: Yahoo! News - Retired Officials Say Bush Must Go: “A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush (news - web sites) has damaged America’s national security and should be defeated in November. The group, which calls itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, will explicitly condemn Bush’s foreign policy, according to several of those who signed the document. ‘It is clear that the statement calls for the defeat of the administration,’ said William C. Harrop, the ambassador to Israel under President Bush’s father and one of the group’s principal organizers. ”