The Packard touch

Dave was my technician
During the mid-1950s, Dave wanted to show our product — called the 803/417 RF & UHF bridge — at a conference at the U.S. Naval Sound Lab. We had two months to do about four months of work.

One evening, I was taking data to confirm the accuracy of the bridge. At about 6:30 p.m., Dave returned from a meeting. He watched and turned a few knobs for the test, then asked if I had eaten dinner. I said, "No," and he told me to go home to eat.

I returned a half hour later, and he was still taking data. I said, "Dave, you go for your dinner and I will finish up." He said he wasn't hungry. We worked together until past midnight. Dave and I carried the bridge to the show on schedule. We sold many of them.

The moral of the story is that Dave or Bill never would ask a worker to do a task that he wouldn't do himself — even to the point of working as my technician.

ART FONG
Palo Alto, California

I was mad as hell at Packard
In 1989, during HP's 50th anniversary, Bill and Dave attended a press conference at the annual HP Communicators Workshop, which brought together editors and communications people from around the globe. Among the first questions to the co-founders was "Have you ever had serious disagreements?"

Dave responded, "You want to start, Bill?"

Bill replied, "Go ahead. You start."

Dave answered, "You see, that's the way it worked. Well, ever since we met in 1930, I don't think we've ever had any major disagreements."

Bill noted, "I can only remember one, and I was mad as hell at Packard. And then I discovered that we were saying exactly the same thing. We had just misunderstood each other."

GORDON BROWN
Los Altos, California

He saw all of us the same
In 1993, I met Dave at HP Labs Diversity Day. He stopped by our Disability Awareness booth and complimented our display, including materials covering a wide range of people with disabilities.

He saw that there were materials dealing with deafness. He picked up a brochure and told me that he — like me — wears a hearing aid. This gave me the opportunity to tell him about the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Employee Network and what we have been doing. He said he was happy to learn about us working as a group to eliminate barriers and encouraged us to continue to do so.

After meeting him, I remember thinking here is a person that sees all of us as if we are the same. No one is above or beneath one another.

PATTY O'SULLIVAN
Palo Alto, California

Dave and President Richard Nixon took the podium in 1960 during a dinner in San Francisco for the combined Hard and Stanford University schools of business.

On one ride from the airport, he told me about his recent trip to Washington, D.C. It was quite late in the evening and he asked me what time I went to work that day. I told him it was about 7 a.m. He replied that he had been up since about 6:30 a.m. east coast time because he had to meet the President for breakfast.

He apologized for coming in so late and making my day long. I thought to myself, "Here is someone who had breakfast with the President of the United States this morning. He's riding in my car and he's worried about my long day!"

I don't think that I will ever forget that conversation or Mr. Packard's consideration for as long as I live.

STEVE WILSON
Palo Alto, California

MBWA at the demonstration
The most influential memory of Dave Packard for me took place in the late 1960s or early '70s. There was significant unrest and chaos throughout our world. There was a great deal of anger directed toward almost anyone characterized as part of the "establishment."

The media were filled with pictures of disruption, protests and violence. One night in the Palo Alto Times-Tribune newspaper there was a picture of another demonstration. But this one was different. In the middle of the picture was Dave, sitting on the steps of one of Stanford University's buildings, surrounded by the demonstrators.

The caption and story related why he was there: He wanted to learn the demonstrators' dissatisfaction firsthand. He put himself at personal risk in an effort to understand better. He applied the now-famous "management by wandering around" to his personal life. He lived what he preached — he "walked his talk."

BILL TAYLOR
Palo Alto, California

Too busy to talk to Dave
In the early 1970s, shortly after his return from Washington, D.C., Dave and Bill, with all the corporate officers, attended one of the annual reviews for the Loveland (Colorado) Division. The reviews primarily concentrated on new-product introductions and engineering programs.

It was the custom to take a mid-afternoon break, which gave us the opportunity to practice management by walking around and meet the Loveland people.

We went in pairs to the various departments, and I went with Dave to the production area. We were walking down one of the new production lines when Dave stopped in front of one of the stations where a lady was busily inserting components into printed-circuit boards.

He said, "Hello, I'm David Packard and I wonder if you would explain your process." Without looking up, she replied, "I'm too busy to talk now. I have to get these boards done." Dave just laughed and said, "That's all right, young lady; you just keep doing what you're doing."

She probably still holds the record as the only person in HP who was too busy to talk to David Packard.

BOB BONIFACE
Palo Alto, California

As deputy secretary of defense from 1969 to 1972, Dave visited various U.S. military bases, including this one in Vietnam.

He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black tie, black pants and about a size 16 shoe.

Before he moved on to the next person, Dave said, "My office is over there in Building 8. Any time you have a question or something on your mind, just walk right in. There's no door; I had maintenance take it off so no one has to knock."

That was my first imprint of Hewlett-Packard and the HP Way — right from the top.

JIM COLE
Sunnyvale, California

I joined the right company
During my new-employee orientation class in 1975, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Dave Packard would address the class one afternoon. I was curious to know what this lion of industry would have to say to neophyte engineers.

After a welcome, Dave focused on the importance of maintaining the highest standards of business conduct in all areas of work. At that point, I knew I had joined the right company.

RICK PALM
Palo Alto, California

Congratulations — and a check — from Dave
I will always cherish the memory of receiving my profit-sharing checks from Dave. If any co-workers were away from their desks, it seemed as though Dave would hang around for them to return. He wanted the opportunity to congratulate them in person. He was so sweet and sincere in his gesture. Those were great times.

BEV KNOBEL
Santa Rosa, California

I never met him, yet...
He was the founder of the company in which I work, and I miss him like a friend. I never met Dave, yet I feel as though I know him. I guess that's what makes HP special.

TROND HAUGEN
Oslo, Norway

Dave celebrates HP's 10,000th cathode-ray-tube terminal in 1977 at the Data Terminals Division.

Dave's handshake seemed like shaking hands with a catcher's mitt. This always impressed me and really made a person seem like an important part of the HP team. Those impressions and feelings have lasted throughout a 30-plus-year career.

BILL DIXON
McMinnville, Oregon

I was doing my job for Pappy
When Pappy walked into a room he usually was the biggest one there, and when he spoke, there was no doubt. Dave had a way of making you feel like he personally appreciated what you did on the job. All my years, I performed my jobs as though I were doing them for him.

That was one of the unique characteristics of this great leader. He taught and set an example of the importance of values such as integrity, honesty, sincerity, and fair play.

MILO PITCHER
Fort Collins, Colorado

"The worst cup of coffee I ever had"
In 1964, I was working in a small satellite building in Waltham Massachusetts. There were only about 20 employees there, so it was doubtful that Dave would visit after his tour of the main facility.

However, Dave arrived during our break time and sat down with us. He asked where he could get a cup of coffee. In those days, coffee was from a vending machine for a nickel a cup. Like a lot of vending-machine coffee, you were never sure what you'd get.

The expression on Dave's face made it clear that it was pretty bad coffee. He didn't say anything about it, but urged us to continue our conversation. I was talking about my car's broken water pump.

To our delight, a new coffee machine was delivered within the week. And even though the coffee wasn't much better, it was the thought that counted.

Several years later, I met Dave again and thanked him for the coffee machine. He not only remembered the incident, he said, "That was the worst cup I have ever had." To my surprise he also remembered and asked about my water pump.

Perhaps that's what makes some men greater than others: He really cared about the little things. And, I guess, that is what the HP Way is all about.

DICK BEAL
Andover, Massachusetts

The day Barney Oliver slapped Dave
Upon joining HP in 1967, I was assigned to the former Avondale (Pennsylvania) Division. We lived for nine years in nearby Wilmington, Delaware, and I became well acquainted with many executives from the neighboring world headquarters of three major chemical companies.

Admirable as these fine people were, I couldn't help but observe that we in HP worked in an entirely different atmosphere than they.

One hot summer day in the mid-1970s, I went up to HP's New Jersey Division to attend its annual review. The new building was not quite completed, the air conditioning was not yet fully operational, the outside doors were wide open, and the flies were buzzing around us quite fiercely.

I was seated next to Barney Oliver in one row, while immediately in front of us sat Dave Packard. Barney, bless him, was armed with a fly swatter. When one of the little winged miscreants made the fatal mistake of settling momentarily on the back of Dave's head, Barney couldn't resist flattening the intruder with one well-aimed blow.

Understandably startled, Dave rose up, whipped his head around, saw it was Barney and immediately burst into laughter while the two of them exchanged thumbs-up success signals!

Can you imagine how — and even whether — this revealing little scene would have played out elsewhere in the hallowed halls of most of corporate America?

EMERY ROGERS
Palo Alto, California

"This is manifestly absurb"
For all his warmth and kindness, Dave Packard could be harshly critical of careless thinking and faulty judgment. A journalist once described him, quite accurately, as a man who "did not suffer fools gladly." A now-retired HP accounting manager has a personal memento of the Packard pique.

In the late 1960s, the manager had some ideas about revising HP's internal accounting system. He put these ideas into the form of a lengthy memo to Dave. The next day came the memo — with a handwritten note:

"This is manifestly absurb and evidence of total stupidity."

The manager has happily saved the note and counts it among his most prized posessions.

DAVE KIRBY
Palo Alto, California

Dave and his wife, Lucile (center), try on happy coats and join in the festivities of Yokogawa-Hewlett-Pakcard's 10th anniversary in 1973.

In each human life, there are encounters that are irreplaceable — that one is truly glad to have had. David Packard, meeting you was, indeed, a most precious encounter in my life. I keenly mourn your death. Memories of you always will be fresh and alive in my heart and in my mind's eye. Those memories will, I believe, sustain us in the future.

SHOZO YOKOGAWA
Chairman emeritus
Tokyo, Japan

"Dave Packard — no title"
Twenty years ago in Cupertino, California, Dave Packard attended a reception for newly minted computer sales reps. One rep, whose name I have long since forgotten, wanted to meet Dave. He was from an HP office near Philadelphia called King of Prussia.

Screwing up his nerve, the sales rep marched up to Dave, stuck out his hand and said, "Joe Jones, King of Prussia."

Dave replied, with a twinkle in his eye, "Dave Packard — no title."

Needless to say, Dave held many titles, all richly deserved, but he acted daily as he suggested: Dave Packard — no title.

SAM BOOT
Vancouver, Washington

An unforgettable flight
It was a late, hot afternoon during the summer of 1979 when I was rushing through Los Angeles International Airport to catch a flight back to the Bay Area. I had just spent a long, tiring day in "neophyte" training as part of my new-employee orientation. I left the HP office in such a hurry that I still had my HP name badge on.

I was the last one to get on the plane before take-off. There was only one open seat left, way in the back of the plane next to an elderly gentleman.

I started to push my carry-on luggage under the seat in front of me. Seeing that I was exhausted, the gentleman reached down to help. I looked up to thank him — and it was Dave Packard. Even as a new employee, I had seen enough photos to know who it was.

All I could think to say was, "Hey, aren't you Dave Packard? Your name is on my badge, too." He smiled, and the most incredible hour of my HP career began.

I asked him as many questions as I thought I could, including the earliest days of the company, and he shared some wonderful insights.

Near the end of the flight, Dave reflected, "My goodness, that was such a long time ago. I'll be turning 70 soon — 70 years old." He smiled and said, "Greg, make every year of your career count; it goes by fast."

GREG MIHRAN
Cupertino, California

Just for the newlyweds
In 1969, when Mr. Packard was assistant secretary of defense, I married a co-worker, Vern Haines. Vern and I were on the San Felipe Ranch picnic committee.

The tradition was for committee members to go to the ranch the day before the picnic, help the ranch hands prepare for the event and sleep over at the ranch that night. We all brought sleeping bags and slept, on a first-come, first-served basis, in any bed or floor that was available in the ranch house or on the ground by the pool.

Just about sundown, the foreman told us that he had word from Washington, D.C., that the newlyweds were to sleep in Mr. Packard's room. I don't know how Mr. Packard knew that I was a newlywed — I suspect that my buddy, Margaret Paull, had a hand in that — but his kindness made the 1969 San Felipe Ranch picnic real special for me.

BETTY HAINES
Palo Alto, California

He didn't smile the whole meeting
Early in 1972, just after Dave resigned his assignment at the Pentagon, we received the exciting news that he would attend our management meeting in Megeve, near Geneva. Rumors circulated that Dave was in a very bad mood and ready to "put some things in order at HP."

Dave and Lucile arrived in very light summer clothes, ignoring that the meeting was in the mountains. Driving to Megeve, the car got stuck in a snow storm. The driver, looking for chains, slammed the trunk, locking his coat, Dave and Lucile's coats and hats, and the car key in the trunk.

At the hotel, we were worried when the Packards didn't arrive for the opening cocktail period. Then, a couple of hours later, we saw a huge figure walking through the door, dripping water from the packed snow on his shoulders. Dave had walked a mile in the blizzard, picked a taxi to rescue Lucile and made it to the hotel without their luggage.

There were neither smiles nor funny comments by anyone. At the meeting an hour later, Dave said, "We should never have any debt...We could generate much more money if you would keep your _ _ _ damn inventories under control and if you would reduce your lousy receivables." I do not recall having seen much of a smile on Dave's face during the whole meeting.

FRANCO MARIOTT
Geneva, Switzerland

During HP's 50th anniversary celebration in 1989, Dave and Bill returned to 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, the site of the famous garage where the company began.

An immediate response followed: "Mr. Packard is my father. My name is Dave."

GARY TRUJILLO
Loveland, Colorado

In memory of Lu
I joined HP early in 1987. That spring, Stanford was raising money to build a new children's hospital to be named in memory of Lucile Packard, Dave's wife.

I had heard about this very special woman who cared so much about the health and welfare of children. I sent a check for $25 to the hospital building fund with a brief note expressing my admiration for Lucile Packard.

In July, I received a short note from Dave Packard thanking me for the contribution in Lu's memory. He signed the letter himself.

I could scarcely believe that this man — so wealthy and so powerful — went out of his way to thank me for a modest contribution in honor of his beloved wife.

Ever since, I've kept that letter in my briefcase — a constant reminder of what a great man I work for.

LYNNE BALDWIN
Santa Clara, California

I feel I have known him well
When I was hired by HP Canada, I thought I would be working at a large computer company. Instead, I discovered that I had really joined a family that ran a business founded on the principles of the HP Way.

I never had the pleasure of meeting David Packard; however, I feel I have known him well, thanks to his vision and ideals, which are so prevalent throughout HP worldwide.

If I had met Dave in person, I probably would have just said, "Thank you."

RICHARD PINOS
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada

A shared disability
In 1992, Dave was invited to dinner in Monterey, California, by worldwide HP information-technology managers, who were having a conference. The dinner was held in front of the magnificently beautiful kelp-forest tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Dave was scheduled to talk briefly before dinner. I was covering the event for the Information Systems News newsletter.

I met with the aquarium events coordinator and Dave to select a spot for his talk. When we finished, Dave and I talked for about 10 minutes. We had in common the same disability — hearing impairment — so, among other topics, we discussed hearing aids.

He enthusiastically showed me his hearing aids, which were remotely controlled by a device about the size and shape of a ballpoint pen.

That was my most cherished — and final — contact with Dave.

MEL KELM
Palo Alto, California

Not a bit of wasted space
In 1979, I worked for, among others, Chining Liu, who had just been named general manager of HP's representative office, soon to open in China. Chining and Dave Packard were getting ready for a trip to Beijing in which they would meet with government leaders.

One morning, I arrived at work and found a tall, older gentleman down on his hands and knees on the floor in front of my desk. He was surrounded by calculator boxes. Although I had never seen either of HP's founders in person, I knew immediately that it was Dave.

A supply of HP's latest handheld calculators had been shipped from Corvallis to be given as gifts to the Chinese hosts. Dave was removing each from its box and repacking it to save space and weight.

Of course, I offered to do it for him, but he simply replied that he was doing fine himself and was almost finished. Since I couldn't just watch him work, I stepped away. When I returned, the mountain of boxes had been cleaned up and the calculators that arrived in three large cartons now occupied only one.

BARBARA BEEBE
Palo Alto, California

No one was more proud than Dave of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and his daughter, Julie, when the aquarium opened in 1984.

THOMAS ULRICH
Sunnyvale, California

Needless to say, we made the sale
Our sales team was hosting a customer at the Loveland, Colorado, facility. We were in a conference room discussing our products when, all of a sudden, the door opened. In walked Dave Packard. By coincidence, he was visiting the plant that day.

He shook hands with us and spent a few minutes talking with the customer about his application. After Dave left, the customer turned to me with an incredulous look on his face.

"Was that really who I think it was?" the customer asked. I'm not sure who was more surprised and impressed — the customer or our sales team! Needless to say, we made the sale.

MARK BURAK
Fort Collins, Colorado

The HP Way — under oath
In June 1993, I was HP's attorney during a deposition. The attorney for a former employee had been given permission by the court to ask Mr. Packard a limited number of questions, focused specifically on the HP Way.

When asked the direct question, "What is the HP Way?", Mr. Packard gave an historical answer, describing how it had evolved from the earliest days of the company. The opposing lawyer seemed satisfied with that answer and was about to move to another issue when Mr. Packard volunteered the following:

"I have one more comment...In simple terms, the HP Way is simply that we expect everybody in our company to follow the Golden Rule, to treat other people the way they think they should be treated themselves."

That spontaneous comment crystallized for me why Mr. Packard stands head and shoulders above so many and why HP is what it is today.

CRAIG PACE
Palo Alto, California

Dave was the host and escort when Queen Elizabeth II visited HP in 1983.

Not only was Dave Packard's reputation formidable, but his size and stature were big. As I entered his office, I recall the size of his massive desk. When he stood up behind it, I froze.

He walked out from behind his desk, shook my hand warmly, led me to an old leather couch across the room and sat down beside me. He asked me about my family, talked to me about my aspirations and, in gentle order, asked about my style and my plan.

After an hour or so, I left his office and realized that this man knew me about as well as anyone with whom I had ever had a business relationship. Had he sat behind his desk, he would have only heard words from a young man and he would have had to guess how I might perform the very important task he had in mind. Instead, he found out.

After that experience, I never sat behind my desk when interviewing a candidate.

GERRY PIGHIN
Los Altos, California

I was ticked off...
Ed Hilton had just about finished developing a printer that eventually turned out to be a real money-maker for HP. Near the end of the project, we were running comparative life tests on two units of slightly different design and had about one more week to go.

Packard was in a hurry for new products, however, and left word that we had another day — not another week — to finish. I was ticked off, and the next morning I went to his office to tell him so. He saw me at the door and waved me in to sit down while he finished a telephone conversation.

While he continued talking, I sat there thinking of how to word the sad story I was going to give him. "It's not much fun working around here anymore" — things like that. Slowly, though, I got the gist of his telephone conversation. He was arguing fervently with a fellow Palo Alto school board member and saying things like, "But we've got to. Otherwise, it's not fair to the kids."

It was a long conversation and the topic obviously meant a lot to Dave. I just kept sinking lower in my chair. When he hung up, I said we had hoped for another week of tests, but it wouldn't be any problem to finish up that afternoon. He said, "OK," and I left.

AL BAGLEY
Los Altos Hills, California

Putting employees first
I have been with HP for almost 38 years and I have always remembered my first encounter with Dave in 1958. HP had had a very good month, so there was a Friday "beer bust."

I was chatting with Dave when a young woman from production came over and asked, "Mr. Packard, will we ever have unions at HP?" Without blinking an eye, Dave said, "If we can't do as good a job as the unions, then, yes, we probably should have unions."

It was the perfect answer because it put the employee first. It was an answer I never expected and never have forgotten.

GEORGE STANLEY
Santa Clara, California

Dave, pictured at his fishing lodge in Canada in the early 1990s, once told CEO Lew Platt, "When you're put here on Earth, you only have so many days, and the good thing about a day spent fishing is that it doesn't count."

As Pablo Neruda would say,
"You undermine the horizon with your absence. Eternally in flight like the wave.

I have said that you sang in the wind like the pines and like the masts. Like them, you are tall and taciturn. And like we, are sad, all at once, like a voyage."

The lady from the shadows, the unknown, fell in love with you and took you where you belong, the stars.

We are very sad
because we miss you immensely.
But how else can it be?
We all love you sincerely.

You will always live in us,
your offspring, your kin,
the forest that today is HP.

PANO SANTOS
Palo Alto, California

The man behind the book
I received my copy of The HP Way and, after reading it, sent it to my daughter in New York. I could understand her interest in the book because she worked for HP for five years before moving away when she was married.

A few months later, I asked for my copy back. My daughter told me that her father-in-law had borrowed it. Now my son-in-law is reading it, and his uncle is waiting his turn.

All of these people have no relation to Mr. Packard or HP, but they feel strongly about the man behind the book.

PHYLLIS BOURNE
Palo Alto, California

His last words of wisdom
In October 1995, one of my proudest moments came during the HP Labs Celebration of Creativity day. We watched in astonishment as a frail Dave proudly walked up the ramp to the podium to deliver what were to be, for many of us, his last words of wisdom.

I intend to honor Dave by taking part of the company philosophy into my life. I never will close the door on anyone until at least they have been heard. I know Dave would like that.

JOAN GALLICANO
Palo Alto, California

He was our mentor, our inspiration and, for most of us, our closest personal experience with greatness.

LEW PLATT
Chairman, President & CEO
Hewlett-Packard Co.