David Packard
..., we have to go deeper and find the reasons for our being.” Mr. Packard vision for the future would change as the products would become obsolete, new technologies would emerge and market would shift, but the fundamental ideology would stay as the cement that preserve the unity of the organization in time. Mr. Packard would communicate its vision to his employees, but he would also let them share their vision. “David had a great reputation for walking into a junior engineer's office, putting his feet up on the desk and saying, `Tell me what you're doing, tell me what we should be doing,' '' said Jerry Porras, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Mr. Packard was a motivator. He believed that the upper management should stay close to workers so he managed and motivated the employees by walking around which earned him a M.B.W.A degree. He tried to develop an atmosphere that encourages creativity and innovation. He also motivated his employees by his vision. He taught them to believe that they could change the world. Mr. Packard would encourage employees to compete internally, while working toward a shared objective. He would allow workers during their free time to use the facilities for their own project. He would always try to find an alternative to lay off. He would make sure that the employees were valued. Mr. Packard believed that he worked for his employees not the opposite. He was a true motivation for the entire company, said a former employee. Hewlett-Packard built an organizational commitment through Mr. Packard’s “HP way”. Employees were well treated and valued. They were constantly given opportunities to grow in the company and were given bonuses. Hewlett-Packard always aimed to provide the employees with both long-term job and financial security. Mr. Packard commitment to the company and the employees was legendary and that reflected on the employees’ commitment to the organization. Even when employees left the organization to go work somewhere else or form their own company and it didn’t work out, they were welcomed back. Mr. Packard cannot be given all the credits for revolutionizing the way management and business was done. One can almost never talk about David Packard without talking about his great friend and business partner Bill Hewlett. The partnership between Packard and Hewlett was essential to the success of HP but also crucial to change the way business was done. Together they taught the business world what I would call social capitalism. “They've shown that you can have an ethical culture and not only survive but prosper,'' said Steve Kirsch, CEO of Propel. David Packard died in 1996 at the age of 83 years old; however, his legacy will last forever. During his life Mr. Packard has accomplish many great things and has helped many of his employees become successful businessmen such as Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. He has helped his country by serving as the Deputy Secretary of Defense for the Nixon administration. He has contributed to his community by building school and housing for the minorities. When he died David Packard gave away $7 billion to charity. These few examples reflect well who David Packard was. He was a man who deeply cared for others and wanted to help. The world in which we live keeps on changing. Leaders come and go. Some are good and some are bad. But few are remembered as great leaders. David Packard was born in September 7th, 1912 in Pueblo, Colorado. He enrolled at California’s Stanford University as engineering major. While attending engineering classes, he met William Hewlett. Packard and Hewlett were taken under the wing of engineering professor Frederick Terman, who encouraged them in their projects and exploration of electronic device production. After graduating from Stanford University with a B.A. David Packard went on to work as a junior manager for General Electric. Packard and Hewlett Returned to Stanford University in the mid 1930’s to pursue a masters degree. Packard and Hewlett both earned their masters degree in 1938, and launched their business partnership on New Year’s day 1939. While a coin toss made Bill Hewlett the first named partner in their venture, Hewlett-Packard Co., David Packard was the pair’s management leader. David Packard was truly a leader to admire. He was Charismatic, extrovert and assertive. He was a good listener and a visionary. David Packard was most importantly a person who deeply cared for the people that worked for him and trusted them. “David Packard was one of those leaders whose primary concern was the growth of their organization rather than pandering to their own ego and individual power base. These leaders embrace the values of integrity and humility; they also demonstrate the ability to see a vision through its completion.”(Jim Collins) David Packard saw a need for change in the way business was done. In an early pivotal event in the history of Hewlett-Packard said David Packard “Bill Hewlett went to the HP plant one weekend, stopped by a company storeroom to pick up a microscope and found the equipment cage locked. He broke open the latch and left a note insisting the room not to be locked again. The open bins and storerooms were a symbol of trust, a trust that is central to the way HP does business.” David Packard, along with co-founder Bill Hewlett came up with a new approach to management known as the HP way, an approach that centered on the respect for the individual, contribution to the customer and the community, integrity, teamwork, innovation and quality. Charles O'Reilly, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, said that “For many years, of course, there have been academics who asserted that treating people well and making sure that they were satisfied and treated in a dignified way were positive things, but the number of companies that really did that were, at the time, fairly limited, and HP was one of them. It made an important real-life point.'' Mr. Packard was a great visionary. However, he understood well that it was more important to know what we are than to know were we are going. Because where we are going changes all the time. Mr. Packard greatest legacy to HP was perhaps the fundamental ideology that he developed “HP way” and that notion that Hewlett-Packard has to bring a technical contribution to progress and to the well being of humanity. David Packard said “I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company’s exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a company’s existence, we hav...