Hammer Time

Today is Mike Hammond’s birthday. Mike was the co-founder of Gateway 2000. The have-it-your-way-PC-company that changed the industry in the 1990s. Hammer, as he was nick named, died a little over a year ago. He was only 53 years old. It wasn’t until I read his obituary that I learned that his birthday was November 28th. Over this past year, since his death, I have thought a lot about Mike. The realization shocked me. But, I have to admit that Hammer had a profound impact in my life. As a result, I’m publishing this article on his birthday as a kind of tribute to him.

There are Credentials and Then There is Ability

Now I have had many strong bosses over the past 30 years. They are people who honed their management skills at companies including AT&T, IBM, and Apple. They were educated at the top universities: MIT, Harvard, and University of Michigan, to name a few. All had strong credentials and amazing industry experience.

Then there was Hammer. He didn’t have a college degree. He didn’t have computer industry experience. The story goes, that Mike was a diesel mechanic prior to co-founding Gateway 2000. It was that lack of lineage that led me to prejudge Mike. Well, it was both lack of lineage and his “sweet” disposition.

You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover

When I first met Hammer I would never have guessed he was a co-founder of the company. He had been assigned to “The Cow Room.” This was a dark windowless place where all of the cow- spotted memorabilia, sent in by Gateway’s adoring fans, was displayed. But this room was situated in the heart of the executive offices, where the big boys could keep an eye on the room’s occupant. During my time at Gateway, I saw a number of executives get assigned to the cow room. My belief was that people sent to the cow room had done something really wrong. But getting sent there wasn’t all bad. It was an opportunity for redemption. It was a second chance, a last chance. There were only two ways out of the cow room. One was the boot out the front door, and the other was the door that returned you back to the executive table, triumphant and redeemed. To get through the latter door, the occupant had to knock-the-cover-off-the-ball on a big special project.

When he was released from the cow room Hammer did not slink back to the executive table. He burst back onto the scene. To me it felt a bit like the release of the Kraken from the movie Clash of the Titans. For a human comparison, he was a bit like the cross between Mike Ditka and Larry the Cable Guy. Hammer was rough, gruff, and tough. He was rude, crude and lude. He would get right up in anyone’s face. And swear up a storm, if that is what he thought was required. He appeared to be a loose cannon. He appeared to be a danger to the company.

That early assessment couldn’t have been more wrong. Despite his disarming demeanor, his lack of lineage and his awkward appearance, Hammer was one of the smartest guys in the room. More than that, Mike had the ability to do two things better than anyone else I’ve ever met. Tenaciously tackle time; and be brutal on B.S.

The Last Chapter of the Book

Skip ahead ten years. Gateway is nearly dead in the water. Most of the old guard is gone. But Mike stayed on. He was leader of Gateway’s South Dakota headquarters complex. I was assigned to direct report to Hammer. At that time, some of the original prejudices crept back into my mind. For a brief moment, I even wondered if they had given me this assignment as an attempt to get me to quit. But, there was one thing different this time. I now had a respect for Mike that was not there in the early days. I had seen him deliver results over and over again. I had seen him take care of the company and his people. I had seen him over and over tenaciously tackle time.

Learning from Mike wasn’t easy. He was not a teacher. He did not formally mentor. He was a doer!

Tenaciously Tackle Time

Mike has been on my mind regularly since his death. It took a year for all my experiences with him to finally crystalize in my mind. The main take-away I have from Mike is: Time is the most valuable commodity. You must spend it wisely. You cannot get a refund. You must respect time.

Hammer taught me numerous ways to respect time. Here are the seven key take-aways that I have extracted from my time with Mike.  

This is Hammer Time.

1) Be on Time & Be Prepared

 This is one of those life lessons that should be learned in kindergarten. But many people must have been napping during that lesson. This is true for every scheduled action. An easy example is the simple meeting. If the meeting starts at 8am, get there a couple minutes in advance and be ready to go at 8am.

Don’t be too early. Have ever heard the expression “If you are not 15 minutes early you’re late.”? I bet Mike would respond to that one by saying, “If your 15 minutes early you have too much time on your hands. Get that guy another project to work on.” Besides, if you’re that early, you will fill that extra time by gabbing with other nearby employees about football and wasting their time too, just making the matter even worse.

If you arrive late, you disrupt the entire flow of the meeting. Either you miss important opening information, or you make everyone else wait while someone gives you a recap. Now I know that many people who believe themselves to be important are thinking, “Well they can wait for me. I’m a Mr. Big Deal.” Well Mr. Big Deal your lateness is sending two messages. First, you don’t respect the time of the other people in the meeting. Second, you are creating a culture of lateness. After a while, instead of sitting there waiting for you, the others will just come late too.

Be ready to go. This is basic. Know the location, the duration and the attendees of the meeting. Know the meeting purpose, and the agenda. Be ready to contribute. If you neither bring, nor take any value out of the meeting, ask to opt out. Or better yet, figure out how you can bring value.

2) When You Can Add Value – Speak Up! (When You Can’t - Shut up!)

Some people are afraid to speak up. They know the answer but will not take the risk of saying it out loud when the heat is on. This type of action allows the organization to go down a wrong path wasting time, money, and resources. Frequently these are the same people that after the fact will boldly proclaim “I could’ve told you that wouldn’t work.” Mike had no tolerance for these guys. They had to quickly learn to speak up or get out.

Then there are people that wouldn’t shut up. They’d blather on giving long sermon-like answers. Did they know the answer? Was it hidden somewhere in the diatribe? Who can tell? These actions are time wasters and energy drainers. If you don’t know the answer, just be quiet. If you do know the answer, speak up and get to the point quickly!

Once, early on in my direct reporting to Mike, I did this to him. Product Development was called in to help with a nagging problem in production that was slowing down output. We had done our analysis and we had the answer. But, I started out by giving Mike all the technical details. Reviewed the debugging paths we took and the options we considered. Finally, I got around to the answer and then proudly said the solution. I arrogantly expected a public pat-on-the-back. Instead, Mike stared at me and growled “Olson, that is five minutes of my life I will never get back!” In that sentence Hammer taught. I learned.

Know your audience. Speak their language. Lead with the answer and let them ask for the supporting detail they need. Make sure they know your degree of certainty.

3) Make & Meet Commitments

 Hammer was a respecter of results, not talk, not clothing, not college degrees, not pedigree, just results. Businesses run when things get done. The PC industry moved with lightning speed. Gateway 2000 built its reputation on being first to market. One of the things I often heard Mike say to his management team was “If you come to me with a problem, you better bring along a solution.” Mike wouldn’t tolerate whiners or complainers. He never shied away from problems. Hammer always faced them head-on.

When things needed to get done, Hammer required his team to step up and accept the challenge. When an action item was on the table, he expected people to be aggressive and grab it. I don’t mean grand-standing. You better have the ability to do the action if you accept it.

Once an action item was accepted you had to get it done on time. If problems crept up, you had better communicate them fast. You had better ask for help, before you ask for a schedule delay.

When you don’t meet a commitment, and you don’t communicate it ahead of time, not only are you late, but YOU throw off everyone who is dependent on your result getting done. It turns into an avalanche of time. And it’s about time. For an organization to be fast, it needs to be in sync. To be in sync, the people need to be able to rely on each other.

 4) Own Your Errors & Fix Them Fast

 Everyone makes mistakes. There are companies that don’t tolerate errors. They crush the people that make them. This creates a culture of cloak-and-dagger politics. Blame takes on more of a priority than finding the solution. It also dramatically slows things down.

A friend of mine knew the head of engineering for the Indian railroad. He told the story that, whenever there was a large train crash, the first thing the head of engineering did when he got into the town where that crash occurred was to call back to the main office and report “The preliminary investigation indicates that engineering is not to blame for the crash.” Then he would go out to the site to see what happened.

When you make a mistake, you are uniquely qualified to fix it. You know more about what happened and what needs to be done. Just do it. Owning your mistakes, according to Hammer, meant that he expected you to jump on it fast. Don’t wait to be told.

5) Understand & React to the Time Sensitivity of the Situation

 If you are in management, you likely have a ton of things to do every day. One of the key skills needed for management success is the ability to prioritize. President Eisenhower got a lot of great things done during his terms in office. He used a decision matrix to help him prioritize. His was an early version of the Steven Covey four quadrant matrix detailing urgency and importance.

Now, I never saw Hammer make a list. I’m not sure I ever saw him take a note. But he was always on top of the urgent and important. He knew what was a priority, and made adjustments in real time as more data came in.

Gateway 2000 always pushed to be the first to market with new technology. Occasionally, that decision would bite us with a bug. One time, we had a problem with a new state-of-the-art video card. The popular configuration had to be put on a sales hold. Unsatisfied with the rate of vendor debug, we decided to get some engineers out to that supplier. Hammer commandeered the corporate jet. The team got to the board vendor quickly. Worked for a day and proved the issue was in the Integrated Circuit (chip). So, still with the corporate plane, the team flew off to the chip vendor. After a couple days there, the issue was solved. At that point, the corporate plane was gone. The team finished mopping up and then had to head back home on commercial flights. The urgency and importance had changed.  

6) Know When the Show is Over

 Ever notice how some people linger? It doesn’t matter if it is a conversation, a meeting, a party, or even a job. Some people just don’t know when to leave. They over stay their welcome. They overstay their value. They loiter.

As a co-founder and active executive in the company, Hammer was a powerful man. On a personal level, he was a really fun guy to be around. That combination worked as a magnet. People wanted to be with him. This magnetism attracted good people. It also attracted loiterers.  

Hammer had no time for loiterers. Whenever it got to that point, he would just order people out.

At times, that the best point to know something is over, is before it starts. Hammer always picked his battles carefully. He did not fight for personal reasons. He fought for what he believed was best for Gateway. He ended many battles before they started. When he did chose to fight, he fought ferociously.

7) Time Always Wins

 Hammer started another business after Gateway. His shop was within walking distance of D2. I had seen him sporadically through the years. However, by the fall of 2015, I had not seen him for a while. I had been planning to stop over at his shop. Suddenly, he was gone.

The last lesson I learned from Mike, like the rest of these, was not a new one. But because of his untimely death, it has been tattooed on my brain. Time always wins. It doesn’t play fair. But it does allow choices. Don’t procrastinate!

Attacking time tenaciously was Mike’s way of respecting it. Treating something with respect is a way of honoring it. But “that time” was not just Mike’s. It also belonged to the people of Gateway 2000. In that way, Mike showed respect for people. And the people at every level of the organization respected him for it.

I respect Mike Hammond. My hope is to honor him with this article.

Right about now, it’s Hammer Time!

Happy birthday Hammer!

Tony Olson is the founder and president of D2 Worldwide, a company that specializes in understanding data, technology, and customers. To learn more about D2, click here.