In 1984,
Dennis Hayes enrolled me in Western Behavioral Science Institute for Strategic
Studies (WBSI) for a 2 year Fellowship. I completed this in 1986.
Dennis
was my boss and he founded Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. The Hayes Modem at that time was the standard
of the industry for PC modems. My job was to lead the Personnel function for
the company and navigate our growth from 150 employees and $35 million in sales
in 1983 to 1200 employees and $200 million in sales by 1986.
This
Fellowship program was conducted on-line, using the internet that resided at
New Jersey Institute of Technology. We accessed this from a home PC. We also received a box of books every month.
The on-line access allowed us to email each other. We also met in La Jolla
California twice a year for 1 week with our spouses as a class.
There
were 30 students in my class. They were technology company executives, military
general officers, academics and high level government employees. Astronaut
Rusty Schweickart was in my class and so was the Deputy Director of the CIA for
the Middle East. I was one of the few non-liberals in my class.
We
studied other countries and became familiar with their histories, customs and
economic activities. This was a time when our companies were expanding overseas
by establishing sales offices for exporting US products to these countries.
This required that some of us become familiar with international issues. At my prior companies I was often the one who
met with visitors from other countries. This was true at Monsanto and
Washington University in St. Louis. I also spent my entire senior year at St.
Louis University taking graduate courses for undergraduate credit. I was in a
hurry to graduate and get to work where I could learn real things. I was driven
by my curiosity about everything and this Fellowship was an easy fit.
As I
reflected on how Trump is encouraging all other countries to make their own
countries first, I wanted to share the previous posts with you. These posts
listed countries and data indicating their economic potential. That got me
thinking about my WBSI experience and how it contributed to my world view.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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