intertwingly

Congrats!  You go for the golf clubs or the big honkin' BBQ?

He is picking the 1/2 carat Diamond pendant. Seem liked the best value ;-)

Posted by carolyn ruby (spouse  )

Make that current spouse.

I don’t know.  A diamond pendant might make him look silly.

good job sam.

I converted a diamond tie tack (sp?) I got from some IBM award about 10 years ago into a stud earring, which I wore every day till I lost it a couple weeks ago.  Guess I just have to wait 4 years to get an even BIGGER stone!  Whoo Hoo!

Sam Ruby has worked at IBM for 25 years and survived everything that goes along with that. I work for IBM for one day and he decides to move on. I’m just saying......

Well done, that quite a term. Anyway if you are interested in working for AOL, please email.

Planet WebservicesWow, Sam has just completed 25 years! AMAZING....

Hmm,

I didn’t take your entry to mean that you were truly in the market, but Joe’s wording makes me wonder. In case I’m wrong perhaps you’d be willing to list what your requirements are. Obviously telecommuting is one of them, but what else would it take (salary, benefits, travel budget, 3 weeks vacation in Tahiti)?

Cheers,
Christian Romney

Christian: I guess that depends on what “truly” means.

I’ve got what can only be described as a great job now, but I am a free agent, and would be a fool not to keep up on what the opportunities available to me are.

It sounds like you’re not looking for work as much as you’re looking at some prospects available to you. 'ware the Silly Valley startups.

I am curious: what would you like to do?

I am curious: what would you like to do?

The right question is: what do I want to do once I retire?  Then work backwards from there.

For years (including during the bubble), I told everybody I wasn’t interested.  Many who left during the bubble came back with their tails between their legs.

Now facing changes such as these, I see no reason not to listen to what is available.

So, would you be interested in a high-risk / high-reward startup? Some other established company with good benefits? Consulting gigs? A board position or two?

In short, what would you want to get out of a new position?

Further background: my father worked for Montgomery Wards for a couple of decades.  The company had a century long tradition and was #2 in the marketplace.  It now is no more.

Meanwhile, I’ve talked to my financial adviser.  Between options, ESPP, a household containing two IBM employees, and two pension plans held by — you guessed it — IBM; his reaction can be best summed up by “Dude, you seriously need to diversify”.

In the scheme of things, this is a nice problem to have.  But Michael, relative to your question, the one thing I would like to avoid is things like this.

Well, acquisition as an exit strategy is one thing. Banking on an acquisition by GYM is obviously foolish. For one thing, most acquisitions are not made by GYM.

But, while I’d agree that ‘build-to-flip’ is stupid and a recipe for failure, ‘build-to-last but plan-to-flip’ can be a recipe for success.

In general, acquisitions are both lower risk and lower reward than an IPO. But you still can’t count on them, so while planning for an acquisition as an exit (and making the business more attractive to a potential acquirer) can be very smart, you still need to build an actual business for that to be at all likely. For one thing, it will likely take you 3-5 years to make yourself that attractive to an acquirer. If you haven’t built a real business, you’ll fail long before then.

BTW, Cisco is the only company I’m aware of that has had a decent success rate with a long string of acquisitions. Acquisitions are practically a normal business process for them.

So, aside from build-to-flip travesties, would you potentially be interested in a startup gig?

(Aside: Words the spell-checker doesn’t know: IPO, acquirer, Cisco)

Sorry, that should have been:

But, while I’d agree that ‘build-to-flip’ is stupid and a recipe for failure, ‘build-to-last but plan-to-sell’ can be a recipe for success.

would you potentially be interested in a startup gig

I would be willing to listen.  Just remember, I’m comfortable where I am, so it has to knock my socks off.

Planet WSO2Wow, Sam has just completed 25 years! AMAZING....

In order to work on the contract for a large company earlier this year, I had to take employment with another company. This isn’t that unusual, though I typically won’t accept such conditions–I am an independent, and if...

Howdy: I retired from big blue in '02. I am up for the first check from Social Security in a month, does anyone know about income leveling and the old pension plan. How will IBM know if I take SS now or when I reach 65. It’s important as the reduce the pension check by the amount of your SS as I understand it.
Any help appreciated
John

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Trackback from tecosystems

It has been three months since my 25th anniversary, so I’ve been with IBM for 25¼ years.  I was pleased by the responses I got to that post, but have been surprised by how many companies view relocation as either a hard,... [more]

Trackback from Sam Ruby

Wow, Sam has just completed 25 years! AMAZING....