Startup by S. Jerrold Kaplan

Author:S. Jerrold Kaplan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

By late October, a rumor was circulating in the company kitchen that our engineering schedules were going to be delayed again, possibly into 1991. This had become the midlevel technical managers’ standard technique of gauging the reaction to a schedule slip before actually proposing it. GO was rapidly gaining a reputation as a purveyor of “vaporware,” the industry’s term for products that are promised but never delivered. I had to take some action or we were never going to get a product out. So I called a meeting of the relevant managers: product marketing, quality assurance, documentation, operating systems, applications, technical support, hardware engineering, manufacturing, and public relations.

“It’s been three months since the IBM announcement, and all I hear on the phone is ‘When are we going to see a product?’ We can’t hold out on nothing but promises much longer. It’s time to set a product launch date.” I could see everyone freeze. “Carol, what do you think?” I already knew what she thought. She spent much of her time fielding calls from journalists who teased her with information about our potential competitors.

Her voice was strained and tense. “We just got word that Microsoft is going to announce in February that they’re planning some pen extensions to Windows. We can’t let them steal our thunder. We have to announce in January.”

I was hoping to build a consensus, but instead a revolt broke out. The operating system wouldn’t have enough test time. The application developers’ documentation, which had grown like a cancer to several thousand pages, wouldn’t be finished. There was no guarantee of how many demonstration machines we could manufacture by then. Only some of the promised applications would be complete. User testing indicated that the pen computer wasn’t yet ready for sale to end-user customers, only for applications development.

“I’m glad we’re all in agreement,” I said. A nervous laugh rolled around the room. “Look, gang, it’s time to bet the company. IBM is getting antsy again; Microsoft is breathing down our neck; the investors are anxious; and our reputation is fading. We can’t afford to delay any further, period. It’s time to stand and deliver.”

Carol interrupted. “I can get the Meridien Hotel in San Francisco for January 22, but only if we make a fifty-thousand-dollar deposit now. Then we can take a redeye to Boston, where the Boston Computer Society will let us present at their January 23 meeting.”

I looked around the room. Everyone’s face was white with fear, wondering if I had the nerve to make this substantial deposit to reserve the hotel. “OK, Carol, book it. Listen people, figure out what you can get done by that date. This is it—we’re either going to make fools of ourselves or take the high ground in the coming debate.” The room was silent.

“I’ll do my part.” It was Phil Ydens, the stoic operating systems engineer. “Whatever it takes, my group will be ready.”

“Same here,” said Celeste Baranski, the director of hardware. “Tell me how many units you want, and we’ll deliver.

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