COMPUTER MEMORIES, Chapter 65

A RINGING ENDORSEMENT
One time I prepared a special presentation for one of the ten-top companies in the US. I prepared special flip-charts, and made small hand-out copies, with specific notes about each chart. Slide projectors were not readily available, and certainly nothing like a computer display. (At one company I did have what was called an "Overhead Projector" that I could lug on and off airplanes, and to and from office to office. At least then I could use slides, prepared on transparency film, to make those presentation.)

At the last moment, a top Vice-President of the company decided to come out and join me. This man had been in the business for several years, and was considered one of the “good” ones, but up to now, we had never met each other. I was happy to have his assistance — at least he made it look like we were serious.

After the presentation was over, he was very happy to tell me that in his 20 years in the business, and as an officer in more than one computer company, this was the best presentation he had ever seen. He said I had done an excellent job of explaining how our system worked, how they would use it, and what it would do for them. That was a highly technical subject, presented to management people, not technicians. Well, I tried to humbly tell him that it was just a normal presentation for me, just as I had done it many times. Sure I had!

I do remember that sometime later, I called him from my hotel room, and he was more than a little surprised to hear the description of the view from my window — just a few miles in the distance was Diamond Head, I was in Honolulu. The man who was in charge of computers for the City of Honolulu, had been a fellow-employee at RAND Corp., years earlier.

The City of Honolulu had contacted the home office and expressed an interest in our system, and I was asked to make a presentation to their System Design and Technical people. While they were interested in our system, it was not possible for my company to provide maintenance for one, and only one system, way out there in the Pacific. We had hoped that maintenance could be provided by an organization who maintained equipment for other companies, but that didn’t work out this time. (Could you believe that Emmy's schedule permitted her to be with me on this trip, as she was on many others, over the years.)

I had told my Vice President, as I told other bosses in the past, I won't ask for permission to go here and there, but I will give you a weekly report, and you can tell me not to go there again. But no one ever disagreed with the location of my efforts.

AND YET ANOTHER ENDORSEMENT
At one other company (which shall remain nameless, out of sheer humbleness on my part — it’s been said I have much be humble about!!) a couple of weeks after I joined that company I prepared a set of flip charts that fit in a special three-ring binder, that I would use as a desk-top presentation when I called on customers and prospects. The charts told about our company, its capabilities, information about some past contracts, and told about current projects being worked on by company programmers and consultants. Just to make sure I did not overlook something, and to be sure what I presented was correct, I took it to the office of the Executive VP, a founder of the company, and asked if I could make a presentation to him.

Well, about half way though my spiel he interrupted me, picked up the phone and called the office where presentations, etc., were prepared and maintained. He said, "Destroy all previous flip chart presentations, we now have a new one." Nice of him, if I do say so myself, and no one else is likely to confirm or deny that story.

AND ONE MORE
Since I am the typist, I get to say how many of these I prepare. While working for Honeywell I was given the assignment of giving a Company presentation at a convention for Government officials from a dozen Western States. The presentation was to show Honeywell’s capabilities in more than just computers.

I contacted Honeywell Management people in several offices in various parts of the country, where some special Honeywell product was being featured. I asked them to buy a roll of slide film, and take a bunch of pictures for me. When the pictures arrived in my office, I found someone who could reproduce the selected slides, and add a caption to each.

I gave the presentation to a large room filled with officials, and with many employees of companies who were also in the computer business. It was with a proud smile on my face, that I accepted the praise from several of my competitors. A man from IBM said it was the best presentation of its kind, that he had attended. Well, just maybe he was a new hire!!