OK. This is facinating to me. As a business founder, who has a personal blog, I feel Bob’s pain. He wrote an opinion piece about Guantanamo Bay and how he felt it should stay open. He also apparently made some incorrect statements about torture. This seems to have caused a bit of a firestorm for Bob. He has corrected his statements that were factually incorrect and basically apologized.
This doesn’t seem to be enough for whoever was upset with him. I guess some people have said they won’t do business with him anymore.
What has come of our country? So now we won’t work with people who we disagree with? We already live secluded from people of differing beliefs. This is just pathetic. I blame it all on our government… Republicans and Democrats. They are divided, isolationists within our own country. Their policies of how they choose to govern our country is directly effecting how we work with each other.
Bob Parsons was a rifleman with the Marines in Vietnam for Christ’s Sake. Cut this guy some slack. So he doesn’t know all the specific details of what’s going on in Gitmo. At least he’s got enough balls to take a stand as compared to all the other company owners out there who are too afraid to say anything at all.
Don’t let our screwed up government control our relationships. You don’t realize it’s happening but it is happening. They are making things worse for us as Americans to work together.
He believes something different than you. So what! Work with him because he’s got a good product and he’s a good business man. Or don’t work with him because he’s got a crappy product or is a bad business man. But don’t be a childish wanker who doesn’t like what someone said on a personal blog. Americans are better than that. We live in a plurality. The fact that so many different kinds of people can live together in peace is the greatest part of being an American.
And Bob, don’t forget rule #12. “Never let anybody push you around.”
Bob Parsons: Should we close Gitmo? No way. Instead, let’s fix it. Remembering 9-11.
“Robert, they can’t eat you!” My rules for survival.: Rule #4 of Bob Parsons’ life rules is: “if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
Man, he’s not kidding. Keep some perspective people. It’s all small stuff. Lighten up and have some fun.
We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet: and, amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us.
- Maurice Maeterlinck”
That’s so sad it’s funny.
This is an interesting story. Qualcomm started from very humble ideas:
On NPR, today, they discussed the beginning of Qualcomm:
NPR : Qualcomm Founder’s Son to Assume Control of Company
It is turning 20 years old this month. It had no particular product in mind, just something in the wireless business. Irwin Jacobs wanted to do something to keep his hand on the business. If they were really successful they would have 100 employees, he told his wife.
He sold his stake in his first startup in 1985 for $25 million and started Qualcomm a few months later.
He says that when you start a company with a few people you always have a major cashflow problem and are always worried about the money side of things. You have no choice to but to work really hard, try to come up with some ideas and then really work at.
From the Qualcomm site, they write:
In July 1985, seven individuals joined together in a vision that began what is now QUALCOMM. The first meeting to discuss this new venture took place in Dr. Irwin Jacobs’ den. This team was comprised of Franklin Antonio, Adelia Coffman, Andrew Cohen, Klein Gilhousen, Irwin Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi and Harvey White.
QUALCOMM About QUALCOMM - History / Key Milestones
See, even a multimillionaire starting up a company has cashflow problems. 
In today’s New York Times, they covered corporate blogs. They mentioned Bob Parsons’ blog. It was interesting in the story because he didn’t pull any punches in his blog. He gives his opinions on the world without second guessing what kind of effect it may have on his business. That’s inspiring and not typical of American business. The typical stance is “the party line” whatever line that may be.
He has some interesting points.
He speaks very honestly about fear here:
Bob Parsons: Want to be successful? Get out of your comfort zone! Start a new business. Risk your life. Try public speaking.
The important thing to remember here is that if you’re going to accomplish anything of any significance, you absolutely have to take a chance. That means that you’?ve got to get out of your comfort zone.
Boy, this is captivating stuff:
Bob Parsons: The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed. Parking cars for a living.
And then the epiphany happened. I was at a resort, and it resulted when a guy who was working valet took my car and parked it. The guy was obviously very happy doing what he was doing. I thought that was pretty cool. In fact, it occurred to me that if I lost everything, I could park cars and be happy doing it.
I decided I would rather lose everything than shut down Go Daddy.
Those are just from the first two posts. I haven’t even gotten to the Gitmo post that apparently caused a lot of angry customer email.
Thanks for being so candid Bob. You’ve inspired me to be a little less guarded in this blog.
Hot Points Â? A blog by Go Daddy founder and president Bob Parsons