Paul,<<<And a rule of thumb - every company started by Jim Clark seems to nosedive into abject failure - SGI - Netscape - Healtheon...>>>
To be hugely successful in business, you have to have a lot of luck.
Gordon Moore, for example, had a lot of (engineering) talent to begin with and with some luck he was able to parlay it into huge business success. But, beyond that, he is very gracious and always humble - never taking his accolades too seriously. I would love to have him pour his heart out and listen to what he has to say about life, business, anything.
But, guys like Jim Clark, people without much talent to begin with, got real lucky. Wall Street suck ups and gullible investors threw money at anything he was chasing. Especially, when you aren't that bright to begin with, you start to believe in your press. Once you get a reputation, good or bad, deservedly or not, it just doesn't go away that quickly.
Jim Clark is one lucky person, and he probably doesn't even realize it (that it was due mostly to good luck).
Mary |
