David Packard Quotes
20 quotes from David Packard — Co-founder of Hewlett-Packard..
“Why are we here? I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists solely to make money. Money is an important part of a company's existence, if the company is any good. But a result is not a cause. We have to go deeper and find the real reason for our being.”
“Take risks. Ask big questions. Don't be afraid to make mistakes; if you don't make mistakes, you're not reaching far enough.”
“The best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today's work superbly today.”
“Innovation is everything. When you're on the forefront, you can see what the next innovation needs to be.”
“Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.”
“The betterment of society is not a job to be left to a few. It's a responsibility to be shared by all.”
“More organizations die of indigestion than starvation.”
“Profit is not the proper end and aim of management – it is what makes all of the proper ends and aims possible.”
“To remain static is to lose ground.”
“The greatest success goes to the person who is not afraid to fail in front of even the largest audience.”
“The job of a manager is to support his or her staff, not vice versa and that begins by being among them.”
“Corporate reorganizations should be made for cultural reasons more than financial ones.”
“I think it is obvious that we started this company because Bill and I, and some of those working with us in the early days, felt that we were able to design and make instruments which were not as yet available. I believe that our company has grown over the years for that very reason. Working together we have been able to provide for the technical people, our customers, things which are better than they were able to get anywhere else. The real reason for our existence is that we provide something which is unique.”
“Supervision is not a job of giving orders; it is a job of providing the opportunity for people to use their capabilities efficiently and effectively.”
“Think first of the other fellow. This is THE foundation — the first requisite — for getting along with others. And it is the one truly difficult accomplishment you must make. Gaining this, the rest will be "a breeze.”
“I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a company's existence, we have to go deeper and find the real reasons for our being. As we investigate this, we inevitably come to the conclusion that a group of people get together and exist as an institution that we call a company so they are able to accomplish something collectively which they could not accomplish separately. They are able to do something worthwhile — they make a contribution to society.”
“You know that those people you work with that are working only for money are not making any real contribution. I want to emphasize then that people work to make a contribution and they do this best when they have a real objective when they know what they are trying to achieve and are able to use their own capabilities to the greatest extent.”
“Give sincere appreciation. If we think someone has done a thing well, we should never hesitate to let him know it. WARNING: This does not mean promiscuous use of obvious flattery. Flattery with most intelligent people gets exactly the reaction it deserves — contempt for the egotistical "phony" who stoops to it.”
“HP's success is due to the talents and dedication of you and your colleagues and of the people who have gone before you. Together we have built a truly remarkable company. I believe it is a company without peer.”
“During the corrosive debate over the Compaq merger, the HP leadership at the time persistently portrayed itself as doing exactly "what Dave Packard would have done." As an antidote to this dubious clairvoyance, I published a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal reprinting a wonderful speech my father gave in 1960 to a group of HP managers. My father's own words, delivered on the job, seemed to me the best evidence for his business philosophy.”
