High-Tech Execs Not Bugged By Year 2000 Fears
Most Silicon Valley elite won't take major steps to prepare
sfgate.com
While the average Joe debates whether to hole up in a bunker with a stockpile of food and water in anticipation of the dreaded Y2K problem, Sun Microsystems chief executive Scott McNealy and other high-tech executives have more pressing matters.
''I will probably be asleep as soon as all three boys go to sleep (about 9:30) and will wake up and change Y2K-compliant diapers,'' McNealy said. ''(I) have no changes planned.''
Roy McDonald, president of software-maker Connectix Corp. in San Mateo, is traveling to Tecate, Mexico, for a ''spiritual retreat'' to learn what the new millennium means to him. McDonald plans to be atop a mountain watching dawn break on the next 1,000 years.
Most high-tech execs and computer experts polled by The Chronicle about their personal Y2K plans issued a collective shrug over the computer problem and blamed the media for doomsday forecasts.
The dismissive responses show that the captains of technology -- the industry most affected and most responsible for the Y2K problem -- are personally confident that the so-called Millennium Bug will be squashed.
''I consider (Y2K) a complete ruse promulgated by consulting companies to drum up business,'' said Jim Clark, co-founder of Netscape Communications Corp., Silicon Graphics Inc. and Healtheon Corp. ''I think the problem is way overblown. This is a good example of the press piling on. Y2K is the bogeyman.''
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison chuckled when asked if he was taking any special precautions, such as stocking up on food or avoiding airline flights on Jan. 1, 2000.
''No, no,'' he said, shaking his head with a big grin after delivering a speech to the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. ''Y2K is going to be a problem, but nowhere near the problem some people seem to think it will be.
''I will be ready, the company will be ready, and things will be OK.''
Even executives from the nontech fields of utilities and finance -- where Y2K breakdowns could have the gravest effect on consumers -- aren't overly worried.
Chevron Corp. CEO Kenneth Derr said he had no special Y2K plans, but doesn't want to be flying anywhere.
True, the captain of the Titanic was also confident that his grand ship was prepared to handle any emergencies.
Still, anyone who may be looking into buying a retreat in the mountains could at least take solace in the fact that so far, there's no Y2K panic at the top in Silicon Valley.
''I'm not concerned about it,'' former Netscape Communications CEO Jim Barksdale said. ''Actually, one of the biggest dangers we face over the next six months is the press hyping Y2K and turning it into a crisis situation for the public.''
''Worried? Not at all,'' said Robert Kotick, chairman and CEO of game developer Activision of Santa Monica. ''I think it's entirely invented by a division of Microsoft.''
But William Ulrich, a nationally recognized Y2K consultant, said the reactions aren't surprising since top corporate executives -- even those in high tech -- are too far removed from trying to fix the Y2K problem to become overly concerned about its potential effects.
''You get to a certain point in life where you think you're immune,'' said Ulrich, president of Tactical Strategy Group Inc. in Soquel (Santa Cruz County). ''The only thing you're really worried about is where your stock price sits.''
Those who work in the trenches of the Y2K problem tend to be more concerned. At a recent conference in New Orleans for Fortune 1000 chief information officers and Y2K project leaders, a poll showed the majority of attendees feared moderate to serious problems ahead.
Some chief executives may not want to admit they are personally worried to avoid possible legal conflicts with their company's official pronouncements on their state of Y2K readiness, Ulrich said.
For example, Microsoft representatives said chief executive Bill Gates would not comment any further than what the software company has publicly said about Y2K.
Ulrich, co-author of the book ''The Year 2000 Software Crisis: Challenge of the Century,'' isn't predicting the end of the world, but does expect Y2K to cause a series of problems, especially abroad.
''The people who least appreciate what's going on are the people who live in Silicon Valley,'' he said. ''Their world is OK, so the rest of the world must be OK.''
Then again, Y2K is ''a marvelous excuse to be sure you have your earthquake supplies in stock at your house,'' said Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future in Menlo Park.
Excite co-founder Graham Spencer and Judy Estrin, chief technology officer at Cisco, are using Y2K to spur them into buying disaster supplies. Neither plan on traveling at the beginning of the year out of fear of scheduling snafus and delayed flights.
''I'm going to buy bottled water and canned food; I'll have extra batteries for flashlights and radios; and I'll probably withdraw some extra cash,'' Spencer wrote in an e-mail. ''I probably won't buy a backup generator; I'm definitely not buying a gun or moving into a bunker. :-).''
Still, others are treating Y2K as something more significant than a computer glitch. Cisco CEO John Chambers plans to spend the eve of the 21st century on Y2K duty with a technical crew at the San Jose company instead of whooping it up with New Year's Eve revelers.
''It's one of the few times the extremists have added value,'' Chambers said. ''I plan on working New Year's Eve with our engineers and support staff to make sure things go smoothly for our customers.''
Gordon Smith, CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., spends the holidays in Hawaii every other year. Although the utility has devoted extensive resources to defusing any Y2K problem, Smith nevertheless is cutting short his holidays just in case anything crops up. When the new year begins, he'll be near PG&E's San Francisco headquarters.
''Personally, I'm planning to party like it's, well, you know,'' said Sunil Paul, CEO of Bright Light Technologies in San Francisco. ''But I might carry a spare flashlight with me, perhaps one that doubles as a party favor. Hey, that sounds like a business idea to me. The hysteria that has people hiding in bunkers in mountains is overdone. It's not the end of civilization. It's a computer bug.''
Others have priorities closer to home. ''My wife's gonna have a baby in six weeks. That's my Y2K,'' said Ed Dilworth, CEO of Arnold Ingalls Moranville, a Web advertising agency in San Francisco. ''I don't care about anything but that. The actual event in January -- pfft.''
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Not Afraid of the Dark
''I consider (Y2K) a complete ruse promulgated by consulting companies to drum up business. I think the problem is way overblown. This is a good example of the press piling on. Y2K is the boogie man.''
--Jim Clark, co-founder of Netscape Communications Corp., Silicon Graphics Inc. and Healtheon Corp.
What, Me Worry?
''I'm not concerned that power will go out and planes will fall from the sky. There could be hiccups in international commerce, but not a complete meltdown.''
--Internet co-founder Vint Cerf
Carefree
''I'm not concerned about it. Actually, one of the biggest dangers we face over the next six months is the press hyping Y2K and turning it into a crisis situation for the public.''
--Former Netscape Communications CEO Jim Barksdale
Hunkering Down
''It's one of the few times the extremists have added value. I plan on working New Year's Eve with our engineers and support staff to make sure things go smoothly for our customers.''
-- Cisco CEO John Chambers
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HIGH TECH VIEWS ON Y2K
Hunkering Down
''I'm making sure I'm prepared to deal with power outages and phone outages. I believe people should prepare for it like they'd prepare for an earthquake. I'm not flying anywhere.''
--Judy Estrin, chief technology officer, Cisco Systems
''It's definitely something that should be taken seriously. At the same time, the hysteria that has people hiding in bunkers in mountains is all overdone. It's not the end of civilization. It's a computer bug.''
--Sunil Paul, CEO, Bright Light Technologies Inc.
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What, Me Worry?
''I will probably be asleep as soon as all three boys go to sleep (about 9:30) and will wake up and change Y2K compliant diapers. (I) have no changes planned.''
--Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy
''Y2K is going to be a problem, but nowhere near the problem some people seem to think it will be. I will be ready, the company will be ready, and things will be OK.''
--Oracle CEO Larry Ellison
''We have not one, but two, millennium bugs: one in our computer, the other in our culture. If computer alone, it is a relatively minor problem. Human irratationality exacerbates problems. The media needs something to fixate on after Monica, and it's Y2K.''
--Paul Saffo, director, Institute for the Future |
