What Made You a Pathetic Go-Getter?

You've written about how your first job after college was at Texas Instruments. You took two courses towards a master's before realizing that a master's degree in electrical engineering was not for you. Then attended Northwestern University for an MBA, but ultimately decided you really wanted to get a PhD and become an academic. Is it true that you called the Director of Stanford's PhD program at the time Harvey Wagner with a request to get into the school? Yes, I did.