Employee tributes to Bill

I was just a young sprout who had been hired by HP just two weeks prior in May 1967. I was up to my elbow in work when I overheard a person giving a tour and describing my job. Being just a shy young man, I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw nothing but white shirts. The guy talking knew everything about my job — and then some. Being curious, I looked a bit more and to my surprise, it was Mr. Bill Hewlett behind me. I jumped and just about stumbled and knocked heads with him. I stammered something and addressed him as "Mr. Hewlett," sticking my hand out for a handshake. He took it but then corrected me. He said, "Call me Bill. My dad is Mr. Hewlett." He also added that I was the only guy who bumped heads with him besides Dave Packard. A couple of weeks later in the cafeteria he saw me and said, "Hi, Nate." He called Packard over and said, "This is the only other guy who bumps head with me besides you Packard." Packard gave a small chuckle and shook my hand. I think that was when I knew that I had found a warm home away from home. Those were the days when Frequency and Time (F@T) was still on Page Mill Road, when Dave and Bill walked the aisles and said hi to just about everyone they met.

I was a just a kid in 1973, when I started as what was then called a "secretary" for Hewlett-Packard in New Jersey.

Back then, Bill Hewlett made a practice of taking a small group of employees — no supervisors or managers — to lunch when he would visit an office. I was very excited when I was asked to "do lunch" with Bill. So, when I called my mom to tell her my news, she responded with a phrase that was, back then, very familiar to young, single females: "Oh, that's nice dear, is he single?"

The next day, I shared this story with Bill and the others during our lunch. He got the biggest kick out of this story.

Over the years, as I moved up the HP ladder, I had the opportunity to meet various managers from HP in California and, on more than one occasion, I heard that Bill had told this story. What a treat that was for me!

Back to top

When Bill arrived at the lobby — without fanfare, alone and probably by taxi. Instead of going to the European VP office, asked the receptionist where the "calculator guys" were. She waived in our direction a few meters away, and he just walked in. My desk was the first one next to the door, so like in many other employees' stories, I heard him ask what I was working on, and what was the latest with calculators.

Since my job included sales force and support training, as well as ad agency briefing, I excitedly launched into the NPI spiel I was working on, and proceeded to demo the latest scientific calculator we were going to introduce. Wondering a bit how much this great mind had kept up with calculus, matrices, complex numbers and parametric plotting, I hesitated and asked how much he wanted to know.

With the often-mentioned twinkle in his eye, he said, "Don't worry, I already have a prototype and I've played with most of this."

It was such a great lift to our spirits to see that. While we were tucked away in a corner of this building, and even though our contribution to the company's revenue was dwindling, we were still close to Bill's heart and mind. He only went to see the "big guys" after visiting with us.

Thanks for the opportunity to share this memory.

In 1983, I was a new full-time employee at HP and was sent out to California from the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, sales office to attend "neophyte" training. As part of the training, they emphasized the open door policy so I decided to try it out. I called Bill Hewlett's assistant to see about meeting with Bill. She was very accommodating and set an appointment for me, and several fellow neophytes, to come over to Bill's office. Not knowing our way around the Bay Area, we managed to get lost and showed up 30 minutes late. We were politely informed that he had another meeting to go to and wasn't able to wait around for us. We apologized and were very embarrassed to have been late. We then asked if we might have another opportunity to meet with Bill, promising to not do a repeat performance. We were given an appointment the following day. This time, we left an hour early to go from Sunnyvale to Palo Alto, not taking any chance of getting lost or being late.

When we arrived, we were informed that Bill had gone home and was planning on going pheasant hunting but was waiting for us to stop at his home so we could meet with him — wow! We could not contain ourselves. Not only were we meeting Bill Hewlett, we were meeting him at his home. When we arrived at his home, he graciously invited us in and sat with us for about 45 minutes asking us about our backgrounds and what we thought of our jobs and HP. It was the most incredible experience. We of course took pictures with Bill in front of his house and he patiently posed for numerous pictures with our cameras — wanting to capture the experience on film.

This was an incredible experience and it is something that I will always cherish. It has been a guiding light to how a successful business survives — by maintaining a personal touch and taking time for individuals no matter what level. I feel blessed to have such a wonderful memory and I pray that I can someday live to touch someone's life like Bill Hewlett touched mine.

Back in 1978, our Lab Director Don Hammond asked me to find a high voltage probe, a vacuum tube voltmeter and an insulation tester.

"Geez, Don, what do you need all those things for?" I asked.

"When you find them, take them up to Bill Hewlett's office. He's fixing his wife's microwave oven," was the reply.

It was a thrill to meet Mr. Hewlett. I felt bold enough to ask him the obvious question, "Mr. Hewlett, you aren't hurting for money. Why don't you just buy a new microwave oven?"

"Well, this is one of the original Amana microwave ovens. Look, it's controlled by one knob. All you do is turn the knob to the cooking time and let go; my wife really likes this. I can't find a new oven like this one, so I'm going to fix it."

As it turns out, a transformer inside the oven was arcing over. Ralph Lee, an HP vice president, came downstairs the next morning, looking for a piece of sheet Teflon. "Bill Hewlett and I figure if we stuff the Teflon sheet into the transformer, we can keep it from arcing," he said.

Sure enough, I soon received a call from Mr. Hewlett's secretary asking me to retrieve the equipment.

To this day, I cannot look at a microwave oven that has a terribly complicated control panel loaded with seldom-used features without thinking that maybe a single-knob control would be better, and forget all the unnecessary bells and whistles.

Back to top

Bill was a consummate engineer in addition to being the founder of HP, running a huge company. He made me feel like a part of something, that I made a difference and that what and how I did things mattered. I still cherish that memory, and try to apply that lesson to other HP employees who I encounter.

As a new software engineer straight out of graduate school, I was assigned to write the "microcode" for calculators for the Advanced Products Division. It was time for the division review and I was to sit beside the HP-92 — a printing predecessor to the HP-12 business calculator — answer questions and nurse the flaky hardware breadboard through the demos. When Bill walked into the room, he came straight to the HP-92 demo and started pushing buttons. He was having trouble setting up an amortization for printing, so I tried to grab the machine from him to show him. He quickly informed me that he wanted to push the buttons himself. So, with quick verbal help from me he completed the task. I was impressed with Bill's interest and knowledge of the calculator and its intended market; and with the respect and patience he showed for me. This brief encounter with Bill helped guide me to think, "What would Bill expect?" as I went on as the project manager for the HP-12C.

In 1982, I was asked to demonstrate the HP 125 personal computer to Bill. While I was doing this, the demo stopped working properly. Bill couldn't have been happier. I called some lab engineers down and Bill proceeded to organize them and lead them in trying to fix the demonstration. He spent 90 minutes with the lab team working on it. At the end, he asked me for a unit for his home office. He was always polite and respectful to everyone and he even got up and grabbed his own cup of coffee.

Bill was quite a man. He loved music so much. I always invited him to the HP Choir concerts and he attended a couple of them — what a thrill that was! If he couldn't attend, he would always send me an e-mail back. I would send him a videotape of the concerts he couldn't attend, and I always got a thank you card signed by him. I will really miss his spirit and kindness. The HP Choir will be dedicating our spring concert to him. We are doing music from the 20s through 40s, which I know Bill liked.

Back to top

Shortly thereafter we received several computers for our first customer shipments. Our data acquisition system became a very successful product and I will never forget Bill's interest in it.

Thank you, Bill.

Growing up in the Bay Area, I heard a lot about HP — my mom worked for HP in Palo Alto in the mid-1960s. She told me stories about HP, and Bill and Dave, as she called them. One of the memories she shared that I love the best is that on any given day of the week, you just might see Bill in his white shirt eating lunch in the cafeteria just like all of the other HP employees. Not many billionaires are that humble, or that in touch with their employees. Bill, you will be missed.

My older brother Dan was born July 8, 1950. Then, two and a half months later my mother found out she was pregnant with me. I was born at the old Stanford Hospital on March 31, 1951. I was three months premature and weighed 1 pound 14 ounces. In 1951, doctors didn't have the technology and knowledge they do today; extremely premature babies didn't have much chance of living. The doctors did not expect me to live — and if by some chance I did — they thought I would probably have many health problems.

Since they did not expect me to live, Dr. Cutter, my pediatrician, approached my parents and asked if they could experiment with me to help understand why premature babies either developed eye problems or crippling leg defects. They had found that previous premature babies, who were in an incubator receiving 100 percent pure oxygen and not exposed to the outside elements, developed problems with either their eyes or legs. They decided to give me less oxygen to see if that made any difference.

At that time, I was the smallest baby born at Stanford Hospital. I had to be fed with an eyedropper and they used handkerchiefs as diapers. The doctors experimented with the oxygen levels and I continued to get stronger and gain weight. They were surprised that the effects of my premature birth were minimal. I did not develop problems with my legs or eyes.

After about six months, I had gained more than five pounds and my parents were finally able to take me home. When my father went to make arrangements to pay the hospital bill, my parents were told that they didn't need to worry because all of the medical bills had been paid for by a person who wished to remain anonymous. This was such a relief for my parents who had worried how they would ever be able to pay for the treatment I had received. My father wanted to know who had been so generous, but the hospital could not disclose this information.

I arrived at home still a small, fragile baby. Back in those days, doctors still made house calls. The doctor would occasionally knock at our front door asking for a cup of coffee while on his way to see other patients. After his cup of coffee, he would tell my mother, "Since I'm here, let me check out the kids," and would give us an examination. One day, when I was 11 years old, he made one of his usual visits to our house. Since he was quitting his practice, he was going to tell my father who had paid the medical bills — It was Bill and Flora Hewlett.

It turns out that Dr. Cutter was also Bill and Flora's pediatrician for their children. It was through him that Bill and Flora had heard about the tiny baby in the nursery fighting for life. This meant a lot to my parents. My father is a very proud man and he always wanted to repay the Hewletts for their kindness and generosity.

In 1968, my father Joe Navarro started working at Hewlett-Packard. While he was working there in 1972, he helped me get an interview at HP and I was hired. My father was a loyal HP employee and always gave it everything he could. He retired in 1985 after 15-plus years of service.

After I started working at Hewlett-Packard, I thought maybe I should thank Bill myself. I called Bill Hewlett's office and thanked him personally for all he had done for my family and me. Bill remembered the tiny baby in the hospital, and was very happy to know that his generosity 21 years prior had made such a difference.

After 28 years of service, I left HP to join Agilent, but I still have very deep roots to HP.

It was the first time Cab Calloway jammed in a tent with Bill Hewlett in the park across from the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California.

There were a couple hundred of us; HP was honoring our sales performance that year. But instead of getting one of the nicer conference rooms we ended up in a tent — accommodations from the Fairmont. We booked too late, the Board of Wells Fargo Bank had the place locked up — they had the good rooms but we had the entertainment. We had Cab Calloway, and every board member of Wells Fargo drooled as they heard his great tunes coming out of the tent.

There was one Wells Fargo board member, or associate of Wells Fargo, who got out of his car and heard Cab Calloway — his favorite — and in his quiet way inquired who the group was with the great entertainment.

Shortly after, the back of the tent opened slightly and Bill Hewlett walked in. He stood quietly by my table — unassuming in a dark tent on a rainy night — where we were celebrating a great sales year.

Cab, in the front of the tent, became puzzled when — what seemed like only took seconds — every person in this tent had turned their backs to Cab Calloway and were standing, cheering and honoring Bill Hewlett, in a way that still gives me chills to remember.

I had the pleasure of walking with Bill back across the street to his original meeting and shoot the breeze about Cab. It was a special moment to understand the essence of the genuine integrity, honesty and basically the "real deal" of what I had heard about Bill Hewlett for some time.

Back to top

I first met Bill when I was working in building 12 on Page Mill Road. I believe it was the celebration for the Garage. Soft spoken and personable was my impression of him. Many years later, I had the privilege of seeing Bill again. This time it was driving him around the Vancouver, Washington, site. I am very proud to have met one of the founders of our company.

Thank you, Mr. Hewlett. You will always be remembered.

Over the past few years, several employees who I worked with have retired from HP. On each occasion, I would send an e-mail to Bill Hewlett letting him know about the retirement. I would include some information about the person and some of their contributions to HP.

Within a few days, I would receive an autographed picture of Bill and a personal letter from him addressed to the new retiree.

The reaction, when I would read the letter out loud and then let everyone know that it was sent by Bill, was amazing. A hush would fall over the crowd, followed by applause for Bill, the retiree and the HP Way.

Everyone was amazed that Bill would take the time to write a personal letter to one single person thanking them for their individual contributions. But, I guess that is what made Bill the person he was.

We will all miss him very much.

Back to top

I only met Bill Hewlett, in person, once in my life. That was more than I ever expected when I first started working for HP. One of my uncles met him years ago, so there are two encounters I'd like to share.

Bill came to the Middlefield site for a tree dedication ceremony in memory of Dave Packard, a few months after Dave passed away. We couldn't hear Bill's speech at all, probably due to technical difficulties, but everyone clapped loudly for him when he finished. Afterward, we all had refreshments in the patio. We lined up to introduce ourselves to Bill and shake his hand; some of us took photographs with him. Although he was a bit frail, he did have that famous glint in his eye and looked each of us straight in the eye as we talked.

His having an individual, personal one-minute conversation with each person impressed me. He usually asked a question, listened carefully, then made a pleasant comment. I heard later that he had refused to go home until everyone had a chance to meet him — or was it he had a chance to meet them? He didn't treat us like one mass of no-names. I felt like I was a significant individual.

I think it was sometime in the 1970s that one of my uncles sought out Bill at the Corporate offices, to ask him for a contribution to one of the local Boy Scouts councils. That was before the days of high security in the workplace. My uncle told me that he wandered around, asking where Bill Hewlett's office was, and no one questioned his presence in the building. He eventually found Bill and spoke with him for a few minutes. I was told that Bill heard the case, whipped out his checkbook from his pocket, and wrote a personal check on the spot.

A few weeks ago, I started reading The HP Way by Dave Packard, to my 7-year-old daughter. She became intrigued and wanted to know if I had ever met either Dave or Bill. I had the thrill of telling her yes and showing her the photograph of Bill and me shaking hands — a moment that will always seem like just yesterday.

I came to work for Hewlett-Packard in 1981. Soon after, Bill Hewlett came to the Boise site for a visit. He wandered the plant freely, shaking hands, stopping to watch folks at work, asking questions and emphasizing the importance of their contributions to the company. I was honored to meet one of the "founding fathers" of HP. Not only has the company lost a pioneer leader, but also the world has truly lost a divine man.

As HP celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1989, I took a few moments to share my feelings about HP with Bill and Dave. Both Bill and Dave sent replies, which I treasure to this day. Both men expressed pleasure at receiving a note that simply said, "I like working here."

The more important aspect was the fact that the very top management of this global corporation took the time to personally respond. It says so much about these two men. A company with nearly 80,000 employees and making billions of dollars every year, and the top managers had time to respond to one single employee. That, to me, is the real essence of HP and the HP Way.

I was privileged to meet both Bill and Dave, and it is my desire to honor both of them in the way that I conduct business for HP every day.

At the risk of sounding overly philosophical, I would like to share my thoughts on the recent passing of Bill Hewlett. It only takes two hands to count the number of individuals who have changed the world in the last 100 years. As HP employees, we're fortunate to be part of the vision of two of these individuals, Bill and Dave — HP's "shining souls." As Carly states, "together we can change the world," Bill and Dave were living proof that it can be done.

They affected technology; they affected Silicon Valley and beyond; they affected management best practices; they affected the community at large through their personal philanthropy and through their foundations; they affected every one of us as HP employees — they have changed the world.

Through our individual contributions to their vision, we can ensure that HP does not become a commodity in the business world. We can differentiate our company by carrying on the legacies of our founding fathers, Bill and Dave.

Thank you, Bill.

Mr. Bill Hewlett never knew me, but our paths crossed briefly in the lobby of a hotel in Santa Barbara, California. The year was 1989, and the President's Club was honoring my husband.

As I stood waiting for the shuttle bus, I saw Mr. Hewlett exit the elevator and walk in my direction. He had spotted my HP "spouse" badge, and he greeted me with a smile in his eyes. We chatted for a moment, and then as he sat down to wait. He placed his briefcase on the floor next to his feet. I couldn't believe it! Here was a man who could have anything money could buy, and yet he was still using a briefcase that seemed to be as old as his company.

I began to realize that HP's values, and certainly the HP Way, really did originate with its founders. I felt lucky to have been in his presence, however brief it was.

Back to top

I had just gotten off active duty as a Marine in 1983. I had heard of a company whose co-founders both served in the military. In fact, one was the Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Johnson.

With this, and a lot of other information, I thought that company would be a great place to work. I applied, was hired and have had a wonderful work experience at HP, all the while continuing to serve as an officer in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Some time after being hired at HP the pressures of a civilian and military life were taking their toll. I seriously thought that I would have to give up the Marines. Then, I learned how Bill had served in the U.S. Military; he was an Army officer during World War II. He was on the staff of the Army's Chief Signal Officer and then headed the electronics section of the New Development Division of the War Department Special Staff. During this latter tour of duty, he was on a special U.S. team that inspected Japanese industry immediately after the war. This information gave me the incentive to continue my career in the Marine Corps Reserve. Hey, if an Army guy can do it, a Marine should have no problem, I thought. And, if the co-founder of a multi-billion dollar company thinks it is important enough to defend this country and its freedoms, who am I to argue? Again, a small decision at the time.

Each of my managers has completely supported me being an officer in the Marine Corps Reserve. When I was activated for Desert Shield/Desert Storm, I felt both a tad nervous and incredibly guilty about leaving my family and my teammates at HP. My family was a little more prepared for my leaving, having dealt with my past deployments and their access to support organizations. However, my activation left a huge gap in the HP organization in which I was a member.

Upon my return, I received a wonderful letter from John Young, Bill and Dave congratulating myself and the other military folks for returning safely from active duty. Although this was terrific, I still had regrets about leaving my team to make up the work I could not do while I was gone — until a manager in the organization told me not to be to hard on myself. He told me that everyone has to pay the price for freedom and my co-workers paid by covering my workload while I was gone. Then he told me with a smile on his face to get to work, "you have a lot to make up for."

I leave next week for Romania with the U.S. Marines. I am going to be an adviser to that country on Airfield and Aircraft Operations. As I prepare to leave, I will think of Bill and his impact on developing my career at Hewlett-Packard and my decision to continue as an officer in the U.S. Marines.

When I worked at the Corporate headquarters in the 70s, I remember seeing Bill in the cafeteria on a regular basis — always with his shirtsleeves rolled up and tie loosened. It was great to see him rubbing elbows with all of us as he negotiated his cafeteria tray through the stations and eventually joined a table of employees.

He will be greatly missed.

Bill Hewlett came to visit us at our new DeskJet printer manufacturing area in Vancouver. At the time, I was working on the production line. As Bill came by to meet us, he commented, "Remember, don't put too many eggs in one basket." This bit of wisdom still speaks to me today when I consider our vintage chart. The quote that I live by everyday is Bill's remark that "we trust that every person wants to do a good job and will do so, given respect and the proper tools." Bill Hewlett has for many years been one of my life heroes. Meeting him and benefiting from Bill and Dave's HP Way has been a rewarding experience.

Back to top

We were all thrilled and tried to get him to talk about himself and his history, but he wouldn't stop asking us questions: Where did we come from? Did we have families of our own? What were our hobbies?

Only later did I realize how amazing it was, that a man with so much power and complexity in his world, was still so interested in the lives of others.

The last time I encountered Bill was in 1992. I was managing the allocation of the brand new HP 1200C color printer, a breakthrough product for which demand far outstripped supply.

All shipments had to be authorized by me, and rule No. 1 was that no personal employee requests would be met until the allocation was over, and we were months away from that.

I found myself on the phone explaining to Bill why his assistant was having such a hard time getting the printer she had requested. I immediately — and very humbly — said, "Your name is on the front of the product. If you want one, it's yours. We'll mark it as essential for internal business purposes."

Well, Bill protested that this wasn't for business purposes. He then explained that he was taking pictures of flowers and butterflies, and wanted something that would allow him to print his photos and capture the delicacy of the butterflies' markings and the details of the flowers.

After chatting for a while about photography and how the new printer could help him, Bill decided that he'd take me up on my offer after all. A few days later he called again, asking for help setting it up. Afterwards, he called several times; each time sharing the details of what he was doing and asking myriad questions about the design and use of the printer.

As he had 13 years earlier, Bill impressed me with his humility and desire to learn. He could have talked for hours and I would have listened to every word; instead, he wanted to see what he could learn from me. I realize how lucky I was to converse with such a giant of a man, and I pray that we at HP continue to value the lessons his life can teach us.

I simply wanted to say thanks for affording my family, as part of the HP family, the tremendous benefit of using the HP recreation sites. We had finished our stay at Hermit Park for about the fifth time back in the early 90s and I thought I would write a simple thank you to our company founders. I was surprised, and very pleased, to receive a reply from Bill. I can't seem to find the note from a physical perspective to recall the exact words, but it touched me in a way that words wouldn't do justice anyway. It's one thing to read all of the great things about a great person; it's another to experience one of the little things that contribute to that greatness. I am saddened by this loss but am dedicated to continuing the great HP Way.

Bill and Dave's values and ideals have taken on a life of their own. They still act as a real reference point against which we often test our decisions and actions. It is those strong values that make HP the best company to stay with through thick and thin. Those values are the real legacy of Bill and Dave.

In 1975, I started working for HP. I worked on a production line in building 6-Lower. At that time there were bells that rang for breaks and everyone would stop and head for the coffee stations for donuts in the mornings. Our work group would usually all eat together at lunch and would always sit at the same table every day.

One day, there at our table, sat Bill Hewlett eating his lunch. At first, we hesitated but then we joined him. Bill asked us where we worked. Someone in the group said "6-Lower, in the dungeon." We all laughed and the conversation went on with Bill asking us about the product we were working on and if we had everything we needed.

The next week there was a questionnaire passed through all of 6-Lower and other similar work areas asking everyone their opinion of the work environment and what could be done to improve it. Within a month, all of 6-Lower and other areas were painted a cheery light yellow and murals were painted on the walls depicting outdoor scenes.

I was so impressed with this man who took to heart a passing comment, said in jest, and followed up to ensure his employees were happy in their work environment. He also walked through the department after the changes and asked people what they thought about the change. This man really cared about his employees. Also, Bill believed in practicing management by walking around — MBWA. It was so evident, if you ever worked in his proximity.

Back to top

By this time, there were a few of us standing there in a row and Bill graciously shook all our hands. When it was my turn I said, "Wow, it's really nice to meet you." He smiled and said, "How did this turn into a receiving line?" We all laughed and he went on his way.

Needless to say, I was jazzed. Later that night, still jazzed about meeting Bill, I scored a perfect 300 game in my bowling league. I have a very nice 300 ring with the date 10-1-91 engraved on it, so that is how I know the exact day I met Bill. Have a safe journey.