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What Steve Jobs and I Have in Common

There aren’t many things that I can claim to have in common with an icon like Steve Jobs.  I’m certainly not a billionaire, don’t run one of the most – if not the most – successful companies in history, and have not made any significant contributions to the landscape of computing and consumer electronics.

But like Steve recently did, I am leaving the company that has shaped my career and, in more ways than I would like to admit, helped me to grow and mature over the past fifteen years.

Unlike Steve, I did not resign for health reasons (the prevailing theory for his sudden departure), and I won’t maintain a place on my company’s Board of Directors (never had one anyway).  But like Steve, I have made some of the best friends of my career at Bosch Rexroth, and it is with a great measure of sadness that I’m leaving.

Fifteen years is a short tenure compared to Steve’s career, but Bosch Rexroth is the only company I’ve worked for since graduating college.  It’s the only corporate culture, organizational structure, and set of rules and expectations that I know.  Granted, the company has grown and evolved since I joined in 1996 (first Star Linear, then Deutsche Star, Mannesmann Rexroth, Acatec, and now Bosch Rexroth), but some things have remained the same, like the family atmosphere and the incredible spirit of teamwork, during both good and bad times.

My new company is smaller (relative to the enormity that is Bosch), more nimble in many ways, and still very entrepreneurial – qualities that are difficult to enable in a larger organization.  There are some things that I will miss very much about Bosch, and there are many things that I look forward to in my new venture.

To my Bosch Rexroth colleagues, it has been a true pleasure to work with you.  Thank you for making Bosch Rexroth a great organization.

September 5, 2011 at 9:41 pm 1 comment


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