CONSULTANT

Looking back as I've recently turned 80, the term "Silicon Valley" has a lot of very positive associations for me. My experiences there, especially in the 1980s and 90s, were with companies like Atari, Apple, and Stanford Research Institute. For me it was a wonderful and challenging place that brought together talented individuals from all over the world to learn and work. 

In terms of people, it was the most international place I had ever been. In the background were beautiful California hills and orchards. In the foreground was the beginnings of a technology revolution that would radically transform the way humanity works and communicates. 

The emphasis was on individual talent and contributions. The vision was of a creatively interconnected world of enlightening  digital media communications. Power then was about empowering individual human beings to achieve greater understanding and even perhaps a bit of wisdom. It was personal. We were idealists.

The enormously complex challenges of the pioneering work back then required that we relate to each other with integrity and respect regardless of ethnicity or nationality. Having higher goals and a strong shared vision goes a long way toward eliminating petty prejudices.