Inevitable[i]Inevitable, is from the Latin word inevitabilis, meaning unavoidable. If we say something is inevitable, we give the sense that no matter what scheme we come up with to get around it, it’s going to happen sooner or later.
My first job after arriving in California in the 1960s was as a production line supervisor in a wafer fab at Fairchild Semiconductor. I had come here from Indiana after tornados had blown away my home and my office. My new boss was John Ronald, a man I looked up to and respected greatly. He was a few years older than me and had vastly more professional experience, much of which I could learn from him. As General Foreman, he had several others like me reporting to him – one for each of the three shifts in the production areas of masking, diffusion, and assembly. Because he was also greatly respected by his superiors, it was only a few months after I arrived that he was promoted to take over a new company division that was to build the first TTL digital integrated circuits.
I was very disappointed when that happened because John had hired me and had taught me an enormous amount in those few short months, but it was inevitable that I would be getting a new boss. His name was Tony Steimle, also a veteran in this brand-new, exploding industry. I have no doubt that he was just as experienced and capable as John was but, being immature in my early 20s, idealistic, and independent, I decided to resist the change.[ii]This was at a time in my life, before having learned about that familiar adage that says, “The boss might not always be right but he (or she) is always the boss.” I don’t know why I didn’t like the new guy but it didn’t matter – he was not my friend John so I resisted every change he tried to make. Inevitably the friction grew and I found myself being transferred to another group in the Company.
I recount that experience now as a metaphor for a challenge that I struggle with, all these decades later. After more than a half-century of personally managing my overgrown-hobby Christmas tree business, the time is quickly approaching when the entire enterprise will be taken over by my daughter. Piece by piece, she will continue to relieve me until such time that I can sit by the fireplace, surrounded by big screen video monitors, and watch all the excitement. Her energy and creativity will undoubtedly lead to many changes. I endorse and encourage those inevitable changes, much the same way that my superiors at Fairchild did 60 years ago. Some people currently involved in the business will welcome Kelley and embrace the changes she brings, and sadly, some will resist and experience the same inevitable result as I did back then.
By: Jim
Written: December 7, 2022
Published: December 7, 2022
Revised:
Reader feedback always appreciated[iii]. . thoughtful commentary perhaps more so than shallow thoughts
footnotes
| ↑i | Inevitable, is from the Latin word inevitabilis, meaning unavoidable. If we say something is inevitable, we give the sense that no matter what scheme we come up with to get around it, it’s going to happen sooner or later. |
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| ↑ii | This was at a time in my life, before having learned about that familiar adage that says, “The boss might not always be right but he (or she) is always the boss.” |
| ↑iii | . . thoughtful commentary perhaps more so than shallow thoughts |