

Quotes From Bill Hewlett and David Packard - mikecane
http://philmckinney.com/archives/2011/09/10-quotes-from-bill-hewlett-and-david-packard-that-every-executive-should-read.html

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maheshs
> The job of a manager is to support his or her staff, not visa verse and that
> begins by being among them.

My take away...

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j_col
From the article:

>...and my favorite one is...

> 10\. Investing in new product development and expanding the product catalog
> are the most difficult things to do in hard times, and also among the most
> important.

Wow. I'd love to know what Phil is thinking re: the recent cancellation of
webOS devices, given that he singled out this point (which I think is an
excellent point by the way).

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bradfa
You could look at it another way, HP is expanding into more software services
/ enterprise tech. They're probably going to spend a lot more money in this
sector than they used to, thus expanding the product catalog.

Granted, killing WebOS means somewhat shrinking the product catalog, but there
weren't that many WebOS devices out there anyway, nor much prospect of selling
them for the original asking price. If HP sees a much larger market in
enterprise tech, going into that while killing the tiny market of WebOS
devices is worthwhile and doesn't violate point number 10.

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drcube
>5\. A company the focuses solely on profits ultimately betrays both itself
and society.

I think if you focus on long term profits, you don't fall into this trap. The
problem is short term thinking, not profits per se, or else what is a business
even for? I can buy a house if I want a money pit.

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shoham
I think that these phrases and especially number 5 point to a different
paradigm in business than we have today, unfortunately. Profits should really
be there largely to help a company expand service, do R&D into new
technologies, and keep the business afloat in hard times, not as the prime
mover it all too often is.

To your question: "What is a business for", I like this answer:

#2: Set out to build a company and make a contribution, not an empire and a
fortune.

Even the meanest Robber Barren on the Gilded Age got this, I think.

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amcintyre
> The biggest competitive advantage is to do the right thing at the worst
> time.

But, but, but...we have to just slap something--anything--together to beat the
other guy to market! Or to meet our arbitrary deadline!

We can always make it correct later, right? :)

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shoham
Thanks for sharing this, whether or not either of them actually said these
things verbatim (which has been questioned elsewhere in this thread). These
guys got what capitalism is all about: providing goods, services, and jobs
that make people's lives better.

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acangiano
One of my favorite quotes by David Packard is: "Marketing is too important to
be left to the marketing department."

I like it so much that I placed it at the beginning of the chapter on
promotion in my upcoming book.

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staunch
Is this HP lore or is there evidence that they said these things?

