13 - Fired Up

Summary

There's nothing wrong with being fired.

—Ted Turner

As Paul Lacy waited in the reception area of Kronos headquarters adjacent to what was then proclaimed as “America's Technology Highway” in Waltham, Massachusetts, he kept repeating one phrase over and over in his head as he awaited his initial interview for the position of Chief Financial Officer.

“It was a hot, hot, hot day,” Paul recalled of that day in the summer of 1988, “and the air conditioner was broken. I was sitting there, sweltering, waiting for a 4 p.m. meeting as the clock clicked to 4:20 p.m., and then 4:25 p.m., and I remember repeating to myself over and over again, ‘Just say no! Just say no!’”

Paul sat there in an oddly enviable position. He wasn't seeking a job, but neither did he have one. He didn't have a current position because he’d been abruptly fired from his last job, yet he’d been let go for a near-perfect reason.

“I had recently been fired as the CFO of a start-up in Canada,” Paul recounted, “because I refused to book revenue that wasn't good revenue. The CEO of that company had told me to book revenue that had come in after a quarter had ended. And I had told him I wouldn’t do it.”

That Paul had a legal understanding of the ramifications of inflating the books was apparent. He did, after all, have a relatively unique background in that he was both a CPA and an attorney. But well beyond the legal side of things, what he was being directed to do was not ethical. And, Paul, as would be a hallmark of his career, held course with a moral compass that never deviated from true north.

“The CEO of that former company said we’d be fine. Just do it!” said Paul. “And I said I wouldn’t. He told me if you’re not going to do it then you’re fired. So, I was fired.”

Fired, but with a severance package that would pay him two years’ worth of salary. Paul would essentially be allowed to spend quality time at home with his wife and, at the time, two young children.