A promise to his father helped McDermott land a Xerox job

Transcript

Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.

1. 9:40

   But I go back to the original job of being a leader and, you know, getting my first break with getting my job at Xerox. And, you know, Xerox back then was the Google of its era. Right. And it was just like such an honor. And, you know, I go back to that original interview a lot in my mind. And I think about the opportunity of getting that shot. and you know I'm getting geared up to leave Long Island my dad drops me off at the railroad tracks and you know I'm just turned 21 years old and I guaranteed my dad I was coming home my employee badge in my pocket and there's something important about that because my dad said Bill you're a good guy don't put all that pressure on yourself and I said no no I guarantee it and I went in to New York that day, and I was reading the annual report on how that CEO, David Kearns

2. 10:38

   was his name, was reinventing this corporation under the quality management principles given to the world by Deming, and at that time, as you know, most of the most valuable companies in the world were from Japan, and they were actually selling a very high quality product for a lesser price than xerox was building a lesser quality product it's hard hard to do right and so this is exactly the time i'm joining the company but i was so inspired by this guy who wanted to transform that company that by the time i got into new york i wanted to be the next david kearns but i had to go knock on cold doors for a living to get my shot so on my last interview I'm so psyched out because I'm meeting with the big boss at 9 West 57th overlooking Central Park.

3. 11:30

   And I sit on a bench next to another friend that's my buddy today who's waiting for an interview. And he's been waiting for a long time. I said, what are you doing waiting? I go over to Joanne Siciliano, who's a receptionist, and I said, look, I had all day. I'm not going anywhere. Please let Mr. Fullwood know I'm waiting. And I really look forward to our meeting. I was instantly invited into his office. And this is the essence of it all.

4. 12:00

   over his shoulder at Central Park on the 38th floor and line was 57. I realized then, as I realize now, it was not an interview. It was a battle for survival. Because if I get that job, I'm in control of my own destiny. It's my shot. And it's up to me to do something with it. So at the end of an interview, he said to me, Bill, it's a very interesting interview. You're interesting young guy the HR department's going to get in touch with you in the next couple of weeks and I said to him you know Mr. Fullard I don't think you completely understand the situation sir and he looks at me with the tilted head like what's his kid up to and I said um I haven't broken a promise to my father in 21 years and I guaranteed him come home tonight with my employee badge in my pocket and he really like kind of tilts his head now like what's this guy up to

5. 12:59

   and uh you know he goes you know bill mcdermott as long as you haven't committed any crimes you're hired now i hadn't committed any crimes of course i told him that and i double checked that you really mean and i'm hired and he goes yeah so i go over there and i you know he's kind of sitting the way you are i pick him up hug him a little bit put him safely back in his chair and I run past the receptionist Joanne and get down to Fifth Avenue and head over to Sixth Avenue to a Bunnenberg or to a pay phone.

6. 13:31

   I call up mom and dad and I say, you know, break out the Corbell, got the job. Now, people don't often know, especially in Silicon Valley, what Corbell is. I'll admit, I do not. It is like the cheapest, worst champagne you've ever had in your life. Okay. But in Long Island, where I come from, that's cristal so the point of the whole thing 25 years later emerson fullwood asked me to give a speech at the rochester institute of technology to students and in introducing me he said the only time that he had ever broken policy at the xerox corporation was the day he hired me i didn't know that. And what I found remarkable about it is that he remembered that and he knew what he was doing when he did it and thought it was worth it. So we have to put tremendous care into people, tremendous attention to detail when it comes to, you know, uniqueness in human beings and what

7. 14:45

   they are capable of doing. And without him, I wouldn't have gotten my shot. And I never forgot that. And today, when I have CEO meetings, he still comes to them. And he's my friend for life. So I think somehow, in the mixture of things, with AI and today's society, we're losing a little bit of the human power that we all have to connect with each other and do magical things together and just make sure we remember AI is to serve people and to make the human ambition greater, not to take it away from us.

8. 15:29

   And so that's my feeling on, you know, just how things have changed, but in many ways the essence of leadership human connection people are just more important now