What a character has departed from our midst!

Dear Howard was as smart as they come, had a great sense of humour, tough as nails yet humane with a huge soft spot, brilliant strategist, driven by detail, and excelling in managing very talented, extremely diverse and very opinionated people. And of course, he was a brilliant and very successful businessman.

Howard earned the name Chief to be sure.

The “tribe” of which he was “Chief” was diverse as diverse as diverse can be. Every language under the sun was spoken in his organization.  As a matter of fact, the UN was homogenous as compared to the Chief’s tribe. Howard was a master of getting the most of very smart people from all over the globe all focused on being successful.

Yes he was not perfect. Who is? Yet even when he was annoying, he was almost always correct. When we first met, I thought that his brilliance was his saving grace. But it wasn’t. He was a fine human being.

Our relationship developed slowly. In the first meeting, Howard told me that ‘all the people who work for me think that they can do my job better than I can. And be aware, Shevat, they probably believe that they can do your fucking job better than you. So good luck  to you, and bring me some results.”

We met regularly for updates; twice a month for several years, I would arrive from Israel on Mondays or Wednesdays at 5.30 AM, and prepare myself for our 09.00 AM meeting which rarely started on time. If I remember, it never started on time. Howard generally regarded time as an unlimited resource.

I came very well prepared, and I could feel that he appreciated my work. Yet he was tough and very demanding. Yet as time went on, Howard gave me more and more work; that was his way of showing appreciation.

Until the fire alarm. We were in a building in Boston and a fire alarm sounded. Everyone ran out. Howard was not feeling well and his breathing was labourious. I stayed with him and we descended together slowly ten minutes after the alarm sounded. Just as we went outside, everyone who had previously descended  was already filing back into the building. “Christ Allon, you could have fucking died because of me”.  (Yes, Howard did remind me of my Dad in the way he spoke). That was the first time our relationship ventured beyond consultant-client.

The second change came in our relationship came during supper in Boston. I mentioned that my wife had died of melanoma, and he mentioned that he had battled melanoma as a young boy, “and it sure scared the shit out of my parents. Even my doctor is surprised every time he sees that I’m still alive. Now let’s get down to business.” We got back to business, but from then on, we had bonded differently.

As time went on and the issues we were working on improved, he backed my worked even during budget cuts and provided an enormous umbrella against corporate cuts.

And we remained friends, discussing things that all friends discuss. He was a wise friend, often commenting on both of my blogs, both praising and criticizing. His comments were pure gold. He did not use classy language so his ideas were crystal clear and to the point. Always.

Howard honed my skills as a consultant, and by dint of our hard work, I had a satisfied client and later, a very very very smart friend.

Farewell, Chief. I will miss you. Very much.

שיהיה זכרו ברוך.