The Legacy of Dave Goldberg Gives me Hope

If you follow the world of technology and the internet at all, you will have heard and read recently about Dave Goldberg, CEO of Survey Monkey and husband of Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.  Sheryl  penned the widely acclaimed book, Lean In.   Dave died a month or so ago while on vacation in Mexico in what seemed to be a freak accident.   Ever since, the internet has been awash with tributes,  stories, and blog posts honoring this man.  I never met Dave nor his wife, although I did read her book and my company is a customer of Survey Monkey.  Where I feel a bit of a connection though is that I did spend two years of my career in Silicon Valley.

 I was particularly moved by the blog that was posted by his employees on their company blog.   The words that they used to describe him and the legacy that he is leaving are quite stunning.

He was described as a mensch- " a yiddish term that means a person of integrity and honor, a stand-up guy, someone to admire and emulate, a rock of humanity."  Adam Lashinsky, a writer for Fortune was quoted as saying "You just don't meet many people who are talented, successful, bright, kind, humble, and universally admired and liked."

Clearly this was a man who touched many many people.  He was described elsewhere as a loyal friend and devoted husband and father.  A family man and really successful in Silicon Valley?  It's not often that you read about those two qualities wrapped up in the same person.  

So what is it about the stories of this man that gives me hope? My time in Silicon Valley was not a particularly happy chapter for me, at least career-wise.  I was there during the peak of the internet boom when companies were doing IPOs at a frightening clip and friends and colleagues were becoming overnight millionaires.  Sadly, that little bit about becoming a millionaire did not quite happen to me. Oh well,  I forced myself to be philosophical and tried not to look back.  But the experience that I had at that time was much more than about money.  It was about deception and greed.  I encountered  people who were anything but the stand-up guy that Dave Goldberg was described as being.  Don't get me wrong, I had many wonderful colleagues and friends in California as well.  The villains in my story were only a select few but the damage that they did to me personally has lingered for over 15 years.  The details are unimportant and in the end, I can look back and know that I acted with integrity and honesty, even if I was surrounded by people who were neither honest nor known for their integrity.   The greatest price that I paid was to have my fundamental optimism and belief in mankind shaken.  I don't mean to sound dramatic but neither do I want to understate how profound this disappointment was for me.  

I have since had a very successful business career with many wonderful colleagues.  Sadly,  I do still continue to see deception and a lack of honesty and trust in the workplace.  There are those who believe that the only way to get ahead is to look out for #1 and do what needs to be done to make things happen and be successful.   Well I would like to offer that a man like Dave Goldberg proves that you can be a "good guy" and still get ahead.  And better yet, you can be celebrated by so many people for the positive impact you have had in your career and in your life.  We should all be so lucky.