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李開復博士英文自傳全書（連載【104】）

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My Deposition

Within the same week, I had my deposition, where the Microsoft lawyer started the session trying to intimidate me.

Lawyer: Dr. Lee, do you believe honesty and integrity are two of the most important virtues?

Me: Yes.

Lawyer: Would you please read the English version of the passage about honesty and integrity in your first public letter to Chinese college students?

Me: “I once interviewed someone who was talented in technology and engineering. But he told me during the interview that he would bring a product he had created when working for his current company if I hired him. Then he seemed to feel he might have said something inappropriate. He explained that he had made the product in his own time after work and his boss didn’t know about it. But after this talk, to me, despite his abilities and work performance, I would never hire him. The reason is that he lacks the most basic principle and work ethic---honesty and integrity. If I hire such a person, who can guarantee he won’t call what he does here something he has created in his own time and present it to another company as a gift? This tells us that a person without integrity cannot become a real success.”

Lawyer: How do you feel after reading this?

Me: This is my principle, which I won’t compromise. To me, honesty and integrity are more important than my life. This is the value I always keep every time I change jobs.

Lawyer: When you applied for your Google position, did you present a gift?

Me: Of course not. You can see in my emails that Google asked me not to talk about business secrets of Microsoft, and I told Google I would only do projects I never did for Microsoft. You can see, from Apple to SGI, from SGI to Microsoft, I’ve never had any problems with this through job changes. I’ve been extremely cautious.

Lawyer: Dr. Lee, did you know Google CEO Eric Schmidt before?

Me: Yes, I first met him more than a decade ago. But we didn’t keep in touch.

Lawyer: If you were not in touch with him, how did you approach him?

Me: I sent him an e-mail.

Lawyer: You were not in touch with him. How did you know his email address?

Me: I Googled him.

Lawyer: Did you write an email to recommend a former Microsoft employee Alan Guo to Google?

Me: No. I just let him list me as a reference.

Lawyer: Wasn’t Alan Guo a Microsoft employee?

Me: When I recommended him, he had left Microsoft for two years. He was about to complete his MBA at Stanford.

Lawyer: Then you were still helping Microsoft’s competitor.

Me: No. I was Alan Guo’s mentor for five years. That was why he listed me as a reference. I would be his reference for his interview with any company.

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