Name:
Charles House
Title:
Executive Vice President, Research
Company:
Intel Dialogic Division
How I arrived at my present job (academic and other influences): I have pursued three types of career, sometimes sequentially, sometimes in parallel. First, an inventor and researcher in interesting problems that "need" solving; Secondly, as a manager and leader of people trying to produce solutions for the above; and third, as a researcher/producer of results on engineering effectiveness, "research on the process of research and development", so to speak.
How I organize my day: Early, mid-day, and late -- check email, voicemail, and correspondence. Try to block two two-hour chunks of dedicated "alone-time" for study/research. Hold meetings to a minimum.
Amount of time spent working daily (at home and office): Average about 60-70 hours per week, with maybe three 14 hour days and two ten hour, and maybe five-six hours per day on the weekends. Probably 20% of this time is "professional time" (e.g. ACM etc. activities).
What I do to get myself thinking creatively: Take long walks with my Black Labradors, sit by a stream, wander through my gardens, read a book on a fresh topic.
My problem-solving strategy: Get several viewpoints, try to structure the critical elements of what is needed, and what is known. Try to isolate the key variables. Try innumerable "crazy" solutions. Get lucky.
What I do to relieve stress: Take long walks with my dogs (see above). Have a candlelit dinner with my wife. Plan a trip to see my grandchildren.
My hero, mentor, or person I most admire and why: Bill Hewlett. The most humble, insightful, gentle professional I ever met.
What I do to mentor those who work for me: Coaching, listening, encouraging, teaching how to look for multiple alternatives.
How a negative event changed my life in a positive way: As a junior in High School, my PSAT scores were modest, and my life-dream school, Caltech, said I "had no chance to get admitted". So, for the first time in my life, I developed some study habits (and they worked!).
One event or decision in my life I wish I could go back and change: I would have been less caught up in my career early and been there for my children more as they grew up so quickly.
What values are the most important to me and what I value in others: Enthusiasm is such a powerful force, along with curiosity. I look for and treasure people who nurture each other, and who value inquiry, questing, and solutions.
What inspires, motivates, or gets me excited about my job on a daily basis: the chance to "make a difference", the feeling that what I am working on will change some things positively that wouldn't have happened otherwise.
Biography:
Professional Service
House has served as Vice President, Publications, IEEE, 1985-1987; and President, ACM, 1996-1998. He is the General Chairman of ACM1, a major conference with Intel as a supporter, scheduled for March 2001 with Bob Metcalfe as Program Chairman, Dave Kasik as Exposition Chair, and James Burke as Moderator. This program will renew the forward-looking views of ACM97 in San Jose, a bold fifty-year futuristic conference managed by the same team that garnered rave reviews. House is currently on the Board of Directors of two companies: Applied MicroSystems in Seattle (NASDAQ: APMC), a tools provider for Intel and Motorola Embedded Microprocessors; and Pretzel Logic Software in Cupertino, CA, an SCM services provider. Chuck is on the Advisory Boards for the Entrepreneurial Center at U of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana. House is also a longstanding Network Member of the prestigious Global Business Network, based in Emeryville, CA. He chaired the IEEE Entrepreneurial Roundtable in July 1998 in Palo Alto, reported in IEEE Spectrum (Nov ‘98).
Education:
BS Eng Physics, California Institute of Technology, 1962; MS EE, Stanford University, 1964; MA History of Science, Univ of Colorado, ‘70; MBA (Strategic Studies), Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, ’85 (now U of Cal San Diego).
Last Modified:
Location: www.acm.org/crossroads/dayinlife/bios/charles_house.html