Wang Boss
By Ken Parks, August 03, 2008

Most everyone one has had one in his or her career --- a bad boss. One of the worst bosses I had in my career came at the end of my nearly four years at Wang Laboratories. I had two other bosses prior to this inept idiot.

He looked like him, he had the same mannerisms, and the same voice. Dick could easily have passed for a twin brother of the obnoxious EPA agent in Ghostbusters, William Atherton. Dick had caused so much turmoil, he produced the loss of several key Field Engineers (FEs). In the three years prior, only two people left. One FE lost half a leg in a motorcycle accident. And the other, a woman, who could not handle the job requirements of an FE such as lifting 50 lbs and other issues. Of the 32 FEs in the Atlanta office, 13 had left during his short reign. This prompted HR from Massachusets HQ to investigate and eventually release him.

The Wang PCS-II included two 5.25 inch floppy drives and a whopping 32 Kb of memory. The same computer was purchased and used in the F&I departments of several automobile dealerships and leasing firms. When I developed the F&I software, I aimed my sales at those who were users of this old and cumbersome computer. The IBM -PC was my choice of system development.

I had researched several desktop PCs including the Wang-PC. The IBM-PC was affordable and cost effective, also having a larger base of 3rd party software. The F&I program was developed in BASICA and had taken nearly 18 months to develop. After installing the F&I software in John McDonald Pontiac, I sold 5 systems in the first month of release, making $25,000. The following month, I sold 4 more, making at total of $45,000 in sales. I was still working at Wang, and I finally made the decision to leave Wang in favor of going full-time with my new business. Later, the F&I software was developed with Visual Basic.

I had come in early on a Monday to prepare for the scheduled meeting, gone past Dick’s office and into the Tech Library. Dick followed me and asked, “What are you doing?” I told him that I was preparing my presentation of the new TAC newsletters for the Monday meeting. It was apparent that he did not approve of what he considered to be a non-Wang meeting, one of which was done without his knowledge. The meetings took place one hour before having to go to work. All of the FEs would meet at a local coffee house and discuss issues with customers and technical matters. Dick looked at me sternly and commanded, “There will be no more Monday meetings. I am the only one who will set up any meetings.” I was told to get about my duties and leave the office so as to be in the field.

The 1982 Ford Escort was my office, storing all of my technical manuals, tools, supples, and parts. During the duration of the dick-tator, I parked the car in the back of the office near the shipping and receiving door. I avoided parking in front where the dick-tator could easily view from his office.

All of us FEs felt a disturbance in the force. Several of the Senior FEs had personal clashes/differences and were noticeably upset in the way things were being implemented by our dick-tatorship. After a difficult day in the field, I had returned to the office, went to the library room to file the latest TAC newsletters, and then realized this was useless. I was not going to get any credit for doing this particular part of my job, but the opposite, only grief. I walked unannounced into Dick’s office and briefly stated, “I will no longer handle the duties of the Technical Library, but instead be in the field.” I turned on my heels and walked out and Dick did not say a word nor confront me with what had just happened.

Earl had taken several FEs to a Braves baseball game at Fulton County Stadium, watching Phil Niekro pitch under the night lights and the cool evening, eating hotdogs, drinking Coke, and being among the crowd, cheering the team on to another close win. Earl was one of the best bosses I had the opportunity to experience. He knew the FEs worked difficult hours and situations, often rewarding us with dinners and other outings. Earl was a good people manager, always willing to listen to reason. When he left, he was greatly missed, especially under the reign of the dick-tator.

The following weekend, there was an upheaval. Dick had previously sent out a memo that all FEs were to report to the office on Saturday to move furniture, bookcases and desks. The less experienced FEs, such as me, had their desks and bookcases taken away in favor of the Senior FEs. I did not attend this fiasco because I had been continually in the field and didn’t have the opportunity to come into the office to read any memos. I had been told that one of the FEs, Chris, almost came to blows with Dick.

Morale had sunk to an all time low and Dick was the cause. There were no more Monday meetings; every FE was upset with the managerial changes and demands. All of my technical manuals were displaced on the floor and I was given the use of a folding chair and shared folding table. I was approached as to the reason for not showing up for the Saturday fiasco. My excuse of not getting the memo was looked upon with disdain.

To keep the ultimate command that we all were Field Engineers and belong in the field, I moved all of my technical manuals into my car. I wrote all of my reports, timesheets, and other documents in my car. I resolved to find myself rarely in the office.

My group leader, Ed, paged me on a Monday morning. I responded to the page by leaving my car in the back parking facility and came into the back entrance of the office, through the loading area. When I approached Ed, he looked surprised and asked, “Where have you been?” I placed my reports into my wall mounted file holder and stated, “I was in my office.” This remark led to curiosity and I directed him to my office; I pointed out my car in the back parking lot and stated, “There’s my office.” Ed shook his head with approval and knowingly stated, “I understand.”

The spacepen (Apollo 7) was given to me as a Christmas present. I brought it into work to show to other FEs. When I left the pen on my table for a short time, I returned to find it missing. I stood on top of one of the desk and made an announcement, "My spacepen is missing. I'm going to the little boys room for about 5 minutes. When I return, I expect to find the pen back on my table, no questions asked. I don't care who took it. Please return it." I came back 5 minutes later and the pen had not been returned. Not only did morale drop to an all time low, but we were among thieves. Even computer parts were being stolen from one's desk/table. The next day, I returned with some cheap BIC pens and made a floor announcement, "If any one wants one of these cheap BIC pens, you can steal it, and I won't complain." Ed, my group leader approached me, "You're still upset about that spacepen?" I responded, "You'd be too, because it would take $100 to replace it."

One of the few days, I was in the office for a short time to retrieve my memos, Ed solemnly came into the front entrance and I saluted him and stated, “Guten morgen, mein gruppen fuehrer.” He looked at me with a Cheshire cat grin, chuckled, and said, “I have to see Dick. I’ll be right back.” After his short meeting, he walked out of Dick’s office with a look of disgust and grumbled out loud, “What an idiot!”

For more than 18 months, I had been developing a software application at home on the IBM PC, a Finance and Insurance (F&I) technology for the automobile and leasing firms. In the office, I referred to this task as growing a vegetable garden. On one occasion, Ed asked, “How’s the garden coming along?” Dick came out of his office and approached us while waiting for logistics to deliver our ordered parts. He interrupted our conversation, “I didn’t know you were into gardening.” I responded while Ed looked on, “Yeah, the green beans are starting to come up.” As Ed and I left the logistics area, we laughed out loud, leaving Dick unaware of our real discussion. This translated to Ed asking about my software development and that the green beans represented money.

The next day, I was in the office eating an apple during lunchtime, sitting at my folded table. I was also red lining my lines of code. Dick approached quietly from behind and cleared his throat near my ear. This startled me. I turned around to find Dick telling me, “Put that away!” I purposely looked at my watch and stated, “It’s 12:30 PM, my lunch time, and I will damn well do what I please.” I rustled up my papers, grabbed my half eaten apple and exited out the back door to my office (car), not to be seen for the rest of the day.

I had been seeking another option prior to making all of the sales in the F&I program. I had interviewed twice for the position of technical trainer in another department within Wang Labs. When Dick discovered that I was going to be transferred, he put a stop to it and cornered me, “You’re never going to get transferred. You’re here to stay.” Remarks as this, provided more of an incentive to complete the software development and make sales.

Little did anyone know that I had completed the software to the point of marketing it to the automobile dealerships and leasing companies. I had installed the software and provided the PC computer system to John McDonald Pontiac. In the month of February I had sold five more F&I packages, making $25,000. The next month, I made $20,000 in sales.

Having put up with the antics of a bad boss for the past several months, it was an easy decision to leave Wang Labs in favor of being fully engaged in my own business. Other FEs had left or were on the verge of leaving. Ed was moving his family back to the windy city, Chicago area, and was fed up with Dick. The turn- over was approaching 33%. The FEs were finding new jobs or seeking transfers to get out from under the dick-tatorship. The departure of senior FEs caused a brain drain. In a manner of speaking I was a senior engineer with my expertise in disk drives, having more than 5 years experience.

In the next few weeks to follow, I was standing on the crossroad of making a major decision. After viewing the finances of my newly formed business and being mistreated by the dick-tatorship, I found myself writing a resignation letter.

I was called into Dick’s office and he had one of the local HR people there to witness the confrontation. I was told to shape up or I would be released. I was placed on 30-day probation with the understanding that if I did not improve, I would be released. Dick and his HR witness were surprised when I announced, “Either way, I’m leaving. Did you get the morning mail? I’ve already submitted my letter of resignation.”

Dick was furious. I had succeeded by staying one or more steps in front of his inept actions. “By the way, I started a new business and have already made $45,000 in two months, more than what you make in an entire year!” His HR witness saw a desperate man slam his fist on the desk and cuss at me. I had heard enough, gathered up what few personal items that were in the FE office and made my final departure. The “two-weeks notice” was for naught.

I had found out later on that there was so much turmoil and FE’s were leaving the Atlanta office. Shortly thereafter, HR in Massachusetts’s headquarters investigated and sent representatives in the Atlanta area to interview former and current FEs. All of this led to Dick’s dismissal.

In the meanwhile, I had made more than $250,000 in F&I sales.