What’s next for you?

For the first six months, I plan to do absolutely nothing. I’ll hopefully lose 10 to 15 pounds and take five to 10 strokes off my golf handicap. I’ll figure out where the next great hunting or fishing spot is. After 40 years, I think I’ve earned at least a six-month break.

It’s no secret that you’ve been paid handsomely at Symantec—$121 million in the past five years. How should CEOs be ­compensated?

I think there’s a benchmark that says, in an industry of this size and shape that requires skills of this type, this is what a competitive compensation range is. And if a company’s investors aren’t complaining about its executive compensation, you might want to ask yourself, Whose issue is it?

Everybody’s being laid off these days. As CEO, how have you managed a company in hard times?

Bottle of wine. [Laughs.] Look, it’s always about sustaining the enterprise, and you have to recognize that it is not personal; it is about making a business decision for the ­benefit of those who are going to stay. If you focus on the people who are going to leave, to the detriment of the thousands who are going to stay, you are out of balance.

You love cars. What’s your dream ride?

Having my 1949 Town and Country Woody convertible back from the shop and cruising up to Napa Valley this summer. It’s a spectacular old car. It was, once upon a time, owned by Bruce Springsteen.

There’s a relative lack of minority representation in executive suites and in boardrooms.

I had noticed that.

With Barack Obama in office—whom you enthusiastically supported—will we see more minorities and women in top posts in business?

If women and minorities work hard to prepare themselves, they will clearly be considered. In the early days of my career, I’d say, “I’d rather play tennis than golf.” But it was a golfing culture, so why wouldn’t I learn to play golf? To the extent that they’re willing to embrace the cultural idio­syncrasies of the business, minorities and women have every bit as much opportunity to succeed as their white male counterparts.

Who do you think faces more difficulty in the business world—women or minorities? I don’t know. I have never, ever felt that I could not get my job done because I was African American. I remember the day I arrived at Symantec. Lo and behold, one of the local newspapers discovered, “Holy shit! He’s black.” At that point, hell, I’d had 49 years of being an African American. What’s the big deal? This is more about “Am I qualified?” than the color of my skin.

You were considered for secretary of commerce. Are you disappointed that you didn’t get it?

I’ve had a fabulous career, and I’ll soon be 60 years old. If I could have topped off my career by serving the country, that would have been a fantastic end. But I’ll certainly find other interesting things to do with my next 60 years.