At VeriFone It's a Dog's Life (And They Love It!)

The fierceness of VeriFone's business model is a reflection of Tyabji himself. Born in Bombay, Tyabji, now 50, moved to the United States when he was 22 and earned two graduate degrees. He spent 13 years at Sperry Corp., signing on as a junior project manager and rising to run all commercial computer operations for what is now Unisys. He is a genuine corporate radical -- fanatically committed to his ideas, utterly fearless about offending the business establishment (or even his own people) when he believes they deserve it, hell-bent on the proposition that his company will walk its talk every day. The only true motto of leadership, Tyabji proclaims, is "Do as I do, not do as I say."

There is no doubt that what Tyabji does -- and what he expects of his company's people -- is breathtakingly powerful. But is it sustainable? Can a corporate ethos this unforgiving crush the competition without chewing up its own people? Most of us already worry that the line between "work" and "life" -- the boundary that provides a safe haven from the exhausting toll of global competition -- has been dangerously blurred. VeriFone appears to have erased the line altogether. Life is work; work is life; there can be no rest in the 24-hour-a-day organization.

During two long interviews with VeriFone's CEO -- one in his office, the other, more appropriately, in an airport conference room -- William Taylor, one of Fast Company's founding editors, explored the irresistible force and dark corners of what Hatim Tyabji has built -- and the lessons it teaches about work and competition in the global economy.

People look to VeriFone as a model of global competition and the "virtual" organization. Yet you worry that they draw the wrong lessons. What don't they understand?

Much of the stuff that has been written focuses on the form -- e-mail, information systems -- and not on the substance. The true power of running a company, the true power of growing any enterprise, is 5% technology and 95% psychology. With all this technology, you run the risk of becoming a robot. Leadership is not robotics. Leadership is human. Leadership is looking people in the eye, pumping the flesh, getting them excited, caring about their families.

It's so easy to worship technology or to blame technology for problems that are human in nature: "Our e-mail system isn't good enough." Bullshit! The e-mail system has nothing to do with anything. Companies have this funny idea -- they forget that human beings are human beings. Not here. Nothing I say should be construed as pie-in-the-sky stuff that doesn't take into account the frailties of human nature. I'm extremely mindful of the frailties of human nature. What I do is acknowledge those frailties and address them, rather than pretend they don't exist.

What frailties, exactly?

Look at that poster on the wall. I have taken that poster with me to staff meetings, or to meetings where I'm offering the same point of view for the umpteenth time. I'll say, "You know, there are twelve blocks in this poster. The Irish setter sits in the twelfth. Right now we're at block two. Would you please get rid of my ulcer and get us to block four?"

To me, that is the essence of leadership. It's amazing how many people forget that. Why do I constantly reinforce the VeriFone philosophy? Why do we publish our Commitment to Excellence? Why do we have VeriFone Virtual University? Why do I distribute e-mails about leadership? Because human beings are worse than the Irish setter.

Leadership is an ongoing, nonstop, continuous process. I can't get disillusioned when I say "sit" and nobody sits. I understand that in the grand scheme of professional life, the Irish setter may never sit. So I just keep repeating the message.

You talk about the frailties of human nature, and then you compare your people to an Irish setter. Aren't they offended?

Are some people offended when I say that? Absolutely. But I have no reservations about making people feel uncomfortable who have reason to feel uncomfortable. Nothing I do is noncontroversial. And if someone wants to be offended, tough.

That goes for me too, by the way. If you read my e-mail on leadership, I state very clearly that if anyone feels I am not following my own precepts, they had better sit on my head.

So you want people at VeriFone who aren't afraid to make waves?

Nothing frustrates me more than somebody sitting back and saying, "So and so won't let me do this" or "these people are getting in the way." Who the hell are these people? There is no such thing as they.

You have to repeat that message, too. I've been running this company for nine years, and we'll be sitting in a staff meeting and someone will say, to pick a random example, "Services just doesn't work." And I'll say, "What the hell does that mean, `Services doesn't work'?" And the person answers, "Well, you know, they won't do what we need."