Page 145 - MY STORY
P. 145
strong guy. I had never encountered this level of angst
from any manager I’d ever worked for.
>Bob Z: Very angry and flushed: “Now that I’ve
explained exactly what I’m ordering you to do, I expect to
see the updated layoff list with Bruce’s name on it!”
>Me: “Bob, I will not put Bruce’s name on that list. If
you want his name on that list, you do it!” and left his
office.
Two nights later, at home, I got a phone call from Joe W.
Joe was now Director of R&D and Bob Z’s boss. His
question was: “Why had I put Bruce’s name on the layoff
list? I thought he was one of our top performers.” I
explained that I had not put his name on the list and
described my contentious meeting with Bob Z. Joe ended
the call by saying: “This conversation never happened,
OK?”
Bruce’s name disappeared from the layoff list and I
understand he happily retired from Boeing decades later.
I don’t know if Bruce ever knew what transpired in those
awful days in June 1969.
