Farewell Scott McNealy
Shel Israel comments on Scott McNeally’s stepping down at Sun. I have my own comment:
I worked at Sun briefly, in ‘94, the summer between my two years at MIT. The company was in the doldrums then, and after some missteps (and after I left) McNealy turned things around nicely.
I found his style annoying at times, but I rooted for him for exactly the reason I believe he wanted me to root for him: he was David going after Redmond’s Goliath. I never wanted to see MS slain, but I hoped, and still hope, that there will be enough viable competitors to keep the company honest.
My desire for this was enough that I wanted more from Scott. But I’m grateful for what he gave us along this line.