Background
William Leonard Simon was born on December 3, 1930, in Washington, District of Columbia, United States. He is the son of Isaac B. Simon, a teacher, and Marjorie Simon, maiden name Felsteiner, a social worker.
William Simon is the recipient of twelve Golden Eagle Film Awards from the Cine Film Festival.
Ithaca, NY 14850, United States
William Simon earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.
William Simon is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
William Simon is a member of the Writers Guild of America.
William Simon is a member of the American Film Institute.
William Simon was a member of Eta Kappa Nu in 1953-1954.
William Simon was a member of Tau Beta Pi.
William Simon was a president of the Foggy Bottom Association in 1963-1965 and a member of its executive board in 1965-1969.
William Simon is a member of the International Documentary Association.
William Simon is a member of Rotary International.
https://www.amazon.com/Profit-Experience-Semiconductor-Transformation-Management/dp/B01K93JTD6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Profit+From+Experience%3A+The+National+Semiconductor+of+Transformation+Management&qid=1608128076&s=books&sr=1-1
1995
(This book stands at the intersection of management and mo...)
This book stands at the intersection of management and money, the place where modern business fundamentals and current financial principles come together.
https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Numbers-Leading-Companies-Measure/dp/0471287903/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Beyond+the+Numbers%3A+How+Leading+Companies+Measure+and+Drive+Success&qid=1608128111&s=books&sr=1-1
1997
(The former CEO of Apple Computer reveals the behind-the-s...)
The former CEO of Apple Computer reveals the behind-the-scenes clashes of personality and business philosophy he experienced during his seventeen months with the company.
https://www.amazon.com/Firing-Line-500-Days-Apple/dp/0887309186/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=On+the+Firing+Line%3A+My+500+Days+at+Apple&qid=1608128146&s=books&sr=1-1
1998
(The project manager for NASA's Mars Pathfinder Mission ex...)
The project manager for NASA's Mars Pathfinder Mission explains how to accomplish a difficult mission on time, on budget, and under intense pressure and describes how his team used high-performance business tactics and techniques to complete a successful space mission.
https://www.amazon.com/High-Velocity-Leadership-Pathfinder-Approach/dp/0887309747/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=High+Velocity+Leadership%3A+The+Mars+Pathfinder+Approach+to+Faster%2C+Better%2C+Cheaper&qid=1608128166&s=books&sr=1-1
1999
(Kevin Mitnick's exploits as a cyber-desperado and fugitiv...)
Kevin Mitnick's exploits as a cyber-desperado and fugitive form one of the most exhaustive FBI manhunts in history and have spawned dozens of articles, books, films, and documentaries. Since his release from federal prison, in 1998, Mitnick has turned his life around and established himself as one of the most sought-after computer security experts worldwide. Now, in The Art of Deception, the world's most notorious hacker gives new meaning to the old adage, "It takes a thief to catch a thief."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076454280X/?tag=2022091-20
2001
(An insightful look at the technology behind e-business su...)
An insightful look at the technology behind e-business success reveals how Microsoft converted cutting-edge information technology into financial gain and explains how other businesses can incorporate the latest in technology into their own business plans.
https://www.amazon.com/Driving-Digital-Microsoft-Customers-Business/dp/0066620929/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Driving+Digital%3A+Microsoft+and+Its+Customers+Speak+About+Thriving+in+the+E-Business+Era&qid=1608128183&s=books&sr=1-1
2001
(Risking his academic reputation, Dr. Gary E. Schwartz ask...)
Risking his academic reputation, Dr. Gary E. Schwartz asked well-known mediums to become part of a series of experiments to prove or disprove, the existence of an afterlife. This riveting narrative, with electrifying transcripts, documents stringently monitored experiments in which mediums attempted to contact dead friends and relatives of "sitters" who were masked from view and never spoke, depriving the mediums of any cues.
https://www.amazon.com/Afterlife-Experiments-Breakthrough-Scientific-Evidence/dp/0743436598/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Afterlife+Experiments%3A+Breakthrough+Scientific+Evidence+of+Life+After+Death&qid=1608128201&s=books&sr=1-1
2002
(iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a busi...)
iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a business era noted for its mavericks, oddballs, and iconoclasts. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Jeffrey Young and William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple, detail Jobs' meteoric rise, and the devastating plunge that left him not only out of Apple but out of the computer-making business entirely.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471720836/?tag=2022091-20
2005
(Every Monday night millions of Americans tune into Medium...)
Every Monday night millions of Americans tune into Medium, NBC's new hit drama featuring Allison DuBois, an ordinary woman who helps police solve baffling crimes through her ability to communicate with the dead. What most don't know is that this fictional character is based on a true-life medium named Allison DuBois, who is a consultant to the show. For the past four years, DuBois has been the subject of rigorous scientific experiments conducted at the University of Arizona by Harvard-trained psychologist Gary Schwartz. The Truth about Medium chronicles many of those experiments as well as the real-life cases Allison has worked on and reveals hard laboratory evidence that psychic ability and mediumship are real.
https://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Medium-Extraordinary-Experiments/dp/1571744592/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Truth+About+Medium%3A+Extraordinary+Experiments+with+the+Real+Allison+Dubois+of+NBC%27s+Medium+and+other+Remarkable+Psychics&qid=1608128218&s=books&sr=1-1
2005
educator producer scriptwriter writer author
William Leonard Simon was born on December 3, 1930, in Washington, District of Columbia, United States. He is the son of Isaac B. Simon, a teacher, and Marjorie Simon, maiden name Felsteiner, a social worker.
William Simon was an excellent student to whom learning came naturally. After graduating from high school, he attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he studied for a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (B.E.E.). He had a talent in math and sciences, but it soon became apparent that for him it was in the wrong program. Despite his misgivings, Simon pressed ahead and earned his B.E.E. in 1954. He earned a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology in 1982 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Communications in 1983 from Golden State University.
William Simon is a writer of features and television movies, documentary and industrial films, television programs, since 1958. He was a Vice President (1966-1967), and a Trustee (1965-1970) of the Summer Shakespeare Festival. He was a lecturer at George Washington University from 1968 to 1970. Besides, he was a Juror Council Member of the Nontheatrical Events Film Festival (1975-1990). In 1985 Simon became a Cindy Festival Blue Ribbon Panel Member. In 1987-1988 he was a member of the interview committee at Cornell University. From 1954 to 1958 he was a Lieutenant of the United States Navy.
It was while he was in the military that Simon got involved in making instructional films. He wrote scripts, learned the basics of directing and producing, and made many important contacts in the film industry. After his Navy service, he launched into a successful career working as a freelance writer for film and television. Being dedicated and disciplined to his craft, he has always found work. Among the many projects he has been involved in over the years are the award-winning documentaries A Touch of Love, which deals with poor people and kids in need, and Setting Sail, a documentary about tall ships that is narrated by legendary television newsman Walter Cronkite, a series of documentaries called Combat Vietnam, and the feature films Fair Woman Without Discretion, Majorca, and A Touch of Love.
Being ever ready to tackle new challenges, William Simon changed tack in his career in the early 1980s. Throughout this period, Simon continued to work in the film industry, and he wrote freelance articles for the Washington Post and USA Today. However, he began another phase in his career one day after high-tech industry executive Gil Amelio invited him to attend one of his lectures. Amelio was doing some teaching at the Stanford Business School. Simon recalled in one of the interviews, "As I listened I thought to myself, "This could be the basis for a book." In fact, Amelio was thinking the same thing. That was why he had invited me to listen to him."
The two men collaborated on a business self-help book called Profit From Experience: The National Semiconductor of Transformation Management. Reviewer Peter Burrows of Business Week described Profit From Experience as a "pedantic...management tome," but the text met a clear need and became a bestseller. It also gave Simon his first taste of what it takes to write a book. His next effort, Beyond the Numbers: How Leading Companies Measure and Drive Success, was Simon's only solo work. His third book, Lasting Change: Building The Shared Values That Make Companies Great, was another collaborative effort. He worked with businessman Rob Lebow, the founder, and chair of Lebow Company, on the 1997 book that recounted Lebow's secrets for management success - Lebow's Shared Values Process. Reviewing Lasting Change for Library Journal, Peggy D. Odom observed that the work "neatly summarizes management principles in recent years." Simon teamed with Amelio again the following year to write On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple. This 1998 bestseller is a candid, revealing, and fast-paced account of Amelio's turbulent tenure as head of the Apple Computer company.
Having mastered the art of working quickly and effectively, William Simon completed four more books over the next four years. Apart from the breakneck pace at which he writes, what is particularly striking about Simon's output is the extraordinary range of subject matter he has covered. High Velocity Leadership: The Mars Pathfinder Approach to Faster, Better, Cheaper, written in collaboration with project manager Brian Muirhead, tells the story of how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration managed to achieve stunning success in its 1997 Pathfinder Mission to Mars while coping with limited budgets and a tight schedule.
Simon stuck with high-tech themes when in 2001 he and Microsoft executive Robert L. McDowell wrote Driving Digital: Microsoft and Its Customers Speak About Thriving in the E-Business Era. A Publishers Weekly reviewer observed that while this primer on how businesses can adapt to today's Internet-based technology does not have a lot of new information for younger readers, "old-school management may find this clear, helpful advice." The 2002 book The Afterlife Experiments: Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death is, as the name suggests, an examination of the latest experiments to determine whether or not human consciousness survives death. Simon worked with Dr. Gary Schwartz, the director of the Human Energy Systems Laboratory at the University of Arizona, to recount and explain the scientific experiments Schwartz and his research team were conducting. The fourth book Simon wrote in the years 1998-2002 is The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security, which was published in late 2002. Simon sat down for a "tell-all" session with cyber desperado Kevin Mitnick, one of the world's most notorious computer hackers. Mitnick, who at one time was among the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "most wanted men" and served time in prison for his crimes, explains how he breached computer security at some of United States' best-known companies and even gained access to sensitive government databanks.
William Simon collaborated with Jeffrey Young to write iCon: Steve Jobs, the Greatest Second Act in the History of Business, which updates Young's previous biography of the Apple Computer CEO. The book focuses on Job's career after being fired in 1985, from Job's founding of the Pixar animated film corporation to his return to Apple in 1997 and his subsequent development of the many innovations that led Apple to become a renewed force in the computer industry.
Simon and Gary E. Schwartz teamed up once again to write The Truth About Medium: Extraordinary Experiments with the Real Allison Dubois of NBC's Medium and other Remarkable Psychics. The book focuses on Schwartz's experiments with people who claim they can communicate with or see the dead. The G.O.D. Experiments: How Science Is Discovering God in Everything, including Us is another collaborative effort between Simon and Schwartz and delves into Schwartz's belief that science is providing substantial evidence for the existence of a "Guiding, Organizing, Designing" process that underlies everything in the universe. The authors discuss numerous discoveries and experiments, including Schwartz's experiments with a man who could tell the future via his dreams.
(The project manager for NASA's Mars Pathfinder Mission ex...)
1999(An insightful look at the technology behind e-business su...)
2001(Every Monday night millions of Americans tune into Medium...)
2005(Kevin Mitnick's exploits as a cyber-desperado and fugitiv...)
2001(The former CEO of Apple Computer reveals the behind-the-s...)
1998(This book stands at the intersection of management and mo...)
1997(iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a busi...)
2005(Risking his academic reputation, Dr. Gary E. Schwartz ask...)
2002William Simon is an adherent of the Republican Party.
Quotations:
"I've learned that mastering the craft of writing is important, but the real thing that is far more important than that, the thing that distinguishes the successful person in the field from those who don't succeed is the dedication to get up every morning and do the work. It's this commitment to work that's essential."
"As you grow older and wiser, you realize there are things that you'd like to know more about."
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences , United States
Writers Guild of America , United States
American Film Institute , United States
Eta Kappa Nu , United States
1953 - 1954
Tau Beta Pi , United States
Foggy Bottom Association , United States
1963 - 1969
International Documentary Association
Rotary International
William Simon married Arynne Lucy Abeles on September 18, 1966. He has one daughter, Victoria Marie, and a stepson, Sheldon M. Bermont.