My leaving Schwab was on less than elegant terms, ... What is really humbling is to have time to reflect on what you've done and what you could have done better.

[Just before the meeting got started, Andy Grove, the gruff chairman of Intel's board at the time, pulled Pottruck aside.] 'When you got promoted to CEO,' ... 'did that make you a better man?' I said no. He said, 'Well then, do you think the fact that you're no longer CEO of Schwab means you're not a better man?' I said, 'No, I don't think so.' He said, 'You're as good a man as you were last week. Hold your head high.' It helped me a lot.

[He picked up the phone and began to make calls, aware that his firing would ripple far beyond his desk. Pottruck's assistant of 15 years, Colleen Bagan-McGill, was driving through San Francisco with her husband and kids at the start of a long-awaited vacation when her cell phone rang.] How are you doing, honey? ... I need to tell you something. I got fired this morning.

While our clients' trading activity had increased in early September ? daily average revenue trades were 136,000 for the first five trading days of the month ? last week's terrorist attacks and their aftermath have added fresh uncertainty to the market environment,

With a slowing economy and weakening corporate earnings, our clients are facing the most challenging market environment in many years.

We have millions of these customers who are reasonably demanding of services, which we're pleased to provide but which have to be paid for, ... Customers have the opportunity to justify their service levels by adding to their account.