ThanksPat

what was him management style? hands on or hands off

Paul Gillin

@furrier Strictly hands-off. He was brilliant at analyzing numbers and spotting problems, but he had others do the dirty work.

he also had considerable success with this VC arm with tech investments.

Rick Saia

- I think that's perfect. I felt the same way.

Kevin Normandeau

Pat fostered a great culture that became the foundation for much of our success. We were all fortunate to part of his 'worlds'

#ThanksPat "My 10th anniv dinner with Pat was particularly special, since it was all IDC attendees & we…" — Ray Boggs http://t.co/9jrk65VE5g

Quoted By @dvellante

#ThanksPat When IDC moved me from HongKong to US to implement WW Quarterly Tracker Pat visited to wish me best of luck. Still very vivid.

a day ago

Quoted By @dvellante

Dave Vellante27

Words to live by - the Ten Corporate Values of Patrick J. McGovern http://goo.gl/TS9Fhn #idg

8 Votes Vote

One day Pat came into a meeting at IDC and started randomly picking people out of the audience asking them to recite the corporate values :-) it was genius - kept us on edge and years later people stillbrought "cheats sheets" to company meetings #idg

great corporate values and he built a business with no outside funding #techathlete for sure

Yes - Pat was very proud of the fact that he funded a multi-billion dollar empire internally - pretty impressive.

A memory of Patrick J McGovern from @jonnyevans_cw #ThanksPat http://t.co/iEEs222uNI via @computerworld blogs

Quoted By @furrier

RT @jcatcw: A memory of Patrick J McGovern from @jonnyevans_cw #ThanksPat http://t.co/iEEs222uNI via @computerworld blogs

Quoted By @furrier

@IDGWorld you are quoted in my CrowdChat. Would like if you'd join. http://twitter.com/IDGWorld/status/446701933265682432 Dave Vellante always tells me amazing stories;@dvellante and others are very proud and influenced in very positive way by Pat McGovern

IDGWorld

Thank you to @dvellante for getting the #thankspat hashtag going! https://t.co/g7vJytWh6q

Quoted By @furrier

And Pat always closed with his mantra "The best is yet to come !!"

Paul Gillin

In the middle of company presentations he would sometimes point at people at random and say, "What's corporate value number 8?" People lived in fear of being called on!

Paul Gillin18

IDGers will remember that he made it a point to visit every US location of the holidays and spend time with every employee from the mailroom to the executive suite. I had the pleasure to accompany him several times. He was such a gracious man.

@gbeachcio has a great story about Pat, John Dix and John Cox - I hope he'll share it :-)

Frank Cutitta

Even better an additional personal touch by netting the taxes out in advance and putting hard cash in the card. Every card came with a personal story about the employees work or family.

Chris Shipley

One Decmeber, I found Pat McGovern alone in the lobby reviewing notes before his holiday rounds with our group. He stuffed the paper in his pocket, met every employee with a big grin and said something about each that even they didn't remember.

Shaw Lively

I agree--his Holiday visits were a big part of what made IDG special...and demonstrated the character ( and amazing memory) of the man. I am still in awe of his commitment to that practice.

Matt Sweeney

Name another billionaire that would do that...the money is one thing... the time to personally thank each employee was one set Pat apart.

John Furrier15

Pat McGovern dancing with Chris Shipley @cshipley rare moment on video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u2QqzUN720

Pat McGovern and Chris Shipley Dance
In the midst of Pat McGovern presenting Chris Shipley with an award on the DEMO Stage at her last DEMO, the dancing begins. September 2009.

6 Votes Vote

John Gallant

Awww. That's so nice.

@JohnGallant1 Chris Shipley had a way with the demo gods

Chris Shipley

At that moment, on the DEMO stage, I really didn't think he'd dance. I should have known, having seen some worldwide managers meeting videos, that he was game for just about anything.

Chris whats fun about that video was the smiles all around..

PecosMike

Thanks for posting --- great clip to demonstrate his personality and his spirit of generosity

Pat would never shy away from a fun moment like that. Most of us would run and hide...but Pat would both enjoy and then connect it to a current trend (like Dancing with the Stars). He was truly one-of-a-kind. #IDG

Matt Sweeney13

My favorite memories of Pat are when he, Walter, and Ted would tell stories about the early days. A few stories in particular...the house in Cambridge and the smoke from downstairs, the camel at the expo in Paris, and his first trip to China.

Mitch Betts

Agreed: The "funny smoke" during the Summer of Love in 1967. The camels that ran amok during the Computer Caravan tour.

please elaborate :-)

Camel story is a classic. As I recall one was at an IDG roadshow in Paris at the George V hotel including a live caravan camel marching though the main hall. The story goes that the camel decided this would be the perfect place to leave a "souvenir".

John Gallant13

Years ago, my wife and I sat next to Pat at a dinner and she told him a story about meeting, decades later, a man whom she had saved from choking when he was just a kid. Pat loved it. From then on, he would relate the tale to others whenever we were around

6 Votes Vote

Frank Cutitta

So true...every time he saw Leslie (as recently at October Alumni party) he would bring up a softball game they played in at the summer outing back in 1985 !

Paul Gillin

He had an amazing memory. He would quote to me from articles I had written 15 years earlier.

Dave Vellante9

Picture of Pat with his son - beautiful shot http://goo.gl/TLnsws #idg

9 Votes Vote

Kelsey Mulcahy

definitely a special picture of father and son

0 Votes Vote

Dave Vellante8

What are some of the stories you remember most about Pat McGovern?

Frank Cutitta

I remember times when I got upgraded on an intl. flight and then saw Pat walk past the first class section to sit in the coach seat he booked. Had to ponder how to ask the flight attendant for a "downgrade".

Nancy Weil

A bunch of us at the News Service tried one year to talk him into buying the Red Sox when the team was being shopped around. The ensuing conversation was hilarious. I so hoped to become the third-base coach!

Linda Miola Furrier

@LaurenMGill you are quoted in my CrowdChat. http://twitter.com/LaurenMGill/status/446726491637047296

0 Votes Vote

Damian Rinaldi7

I can't thank Pat enough for my best friends, who I made in my 20s while working at IDC in Framingham. I'd interviewed with the CIA and decided that spying wasn't my thing -- then I landed a position at IDC doing industrial espionage. It was a blast!

We had some great days on the 4th floor Damian!

Catherine Marenghi

I think the most formative relationships of my career and life were incubated at IDG. As a young editor and writer at Computerworld, I met lifelong friends, colleagues, clients -- and even a husband.

Matt Sweeney7

Pat'isms- "The largest room in any house is the room for improvement." "If you want something done give it to the busiest person on your team".

7 Votes Vote