Thursday, May 27, 2010

Michael H. Jordan, R.I.P.

Stanley Bing remembers Michael H. Jordan:

There's a quality of executive hauteur that some people have and some don't, no matter what their title might be. Mike had it. He was Chairmanly. He presided. Behind the sangfroid, you always had the feeling that there was a tough guy in there that you really didn't want to piss off.

One time, a sleek little barracuda came in from a west coast competitor to straighten out our strategic planning function. He came to his first meeting with the executive team. Ran his mouth off. Said we didn't know our butts from a hole in the ground. Mike listened. After the meeting, the President, who had hired this person, said to Mike, "What do you think of Larry?"

"Oh, he's fine," said Mike. "I'm sure he's very smart. I just never want to see him again. If he's in a meeting, I won't be there."

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