The Roughest, Toughest Bosses -- Fortune Crowns Seven Meanies

NEW YORK - And you thought your boss was tough.

T.J. Rodgers, head of Cypress Semiconductor, puts on what he calls a "drooling psycho face" to harangue employees, Fortune reports.

The magazine said Warnaco CEO Linda Wachner once kept an executive waiting for three days, then dismissed him after a two-minute meeting.

Steve Jobs, of NeXT Computer, was said to have addressed workers in a way that family newspapers could only describe thus: "!$&?+!%/;)!"

In an issue going on sale Oct. 4, Fortune crowns what it calls the seven "roughest, toughest, most intimidating bosses."

They include Wachner, the only woman heading a Fortune 500 company, who was reported to have told an executive, "You'd better start firing people so they'll understand you're serious."

Wachner, in a telephone interview with Associated Press, said, "That was in a turnaround situation." She said she couldn't recall keeping the other executive waiting for three days.

Jack Connors, founder of the ad agency Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, was described as flying into rages that employees call "Jack attacks." The article, made available yesterday, quoted Connors as conceding that he is demanding. But he added, "For everyone who takes a few shots, I can provide you with 20 people who can tell you about the good things we've done."

Rodgers confirmed that he had delayed executives' paychecks if they didn't review employees on time, but added that it only

happened four times - once to himself. He admitted to only one occasion when he made a "drooling psycho face" to harangue employees.

The other bosses in the top seven were Herbert Haft of Dart Group Corp., and brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein of Miramax films.

The magazine said it drew up its list after polling executive search firms, consultants, academics and financial analysts, and conducting follow-up interviews.