Tough Things First: Leadership Lessons from Silicon Valley's Longest Serving CEO

CHAPTER 6

Making People Important

“I feel more fulfilled, more successful now that I have changed my demeanor,” is how I remember my formerly foul-mouthed senior executive summing up his growth at Micrel. “When I was at my previous company, I thought we had all sorts of freedom and I felt really open, great. Then I came here, and at first I felt restricted. I felt confined, thinking, ‘This is too much like going to church every Sunday.’”

He did have a hard time adapting to our no-swearing policy and to the fact that Micrel’s culture was significantly different from that of his previous employer and the semiconductor industry in general. He was also concerned because he initially viewed Micrel as not being a friendly place, and he continued to ...