Box 2, Folder 45 – General Speeches
March 19, 1961, Meeting of HP Sales people at, IRE, New York, NY
This folder has been moved to Box 1, Folder 19A, and is included in the HP Management section of speeches for the computer file.
Box 2, Folder 46 – General Speeches
April 26, 1961, The Financing, Growth and Diversification of a company, S.A.M.A., Greenbrier
4/26/61, Typewritten speech on the above subject given by David Packard at the meeting of the Scientific Apparatus Makers Association.
Packard says he was a little surprised to see that the formal program said he would talk about Diversification, as well as Financing and Growth. He says that, actually, he is “…not a strong advocate of diversification as such.” He says he considers diversification as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. And the end may be any one of a number of things – long term stability, growth, utilization of available resources, or simply to make a better profit. Packard says diversification is used to spread the risk, “…but I think it is important to remind ourselves whenever you spread the risk you may spread the opportunity too. He tells the old adages: the first, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket – the other, do put all your eggs in one basket, then watch the basket. “I lean toward the latter as a preference”, he says.
Turning to growth he says there are divergent views as to its importance. Some people says they don’t want the problems growth brings, other people “… take the view that a business must grow or die and that you have to run pretty hard just to keep up with what’s going on. So on both of these matters we need to get at the problem in a little different way.”
To do that he asks what should be the objectives of business. The answer, of course, varies he says. In times past profit for stockholders was considered the objective – nothing else mattered. “But today, and I think fortunately so, many businessmen say the objective of business is not just to make a profit, but to serve society, and it is time that all of us start from this point in considering our problems.”
Packard tells the audience that, some time ago, the management of HP set down a number of specific objectives to help our people work toward common goals. “One of these objectives is to direct all our efforts toward the field of electronic instrumentation.”
The second objective Packard says, is to “concentrate on those areas where we feel we can make an important contribution to the advancement of science and the practical application of measurement.” If we keep those two objectives in mind, Packard says they believe they can “…let the matters of growth and diversification fall where they will.”
Packard says that a major factor in the tremendous rate of growth in the instrumentation field over the past decade has been due to government procurement. In addition to government purchases, there has been more emphasis placed on research throughout the country. Beyond these two factors Packard mentions “…the tremendous emphasis in the field of automation, recorders, computers, controllers, transducers, data handling systems of all kinds…”
Packard notes there has been some concern in the country about automation, “…and it may cause featherbedding and practices by Unions on the basis that automation is making these things necessary. It is a problem with us, and I think it’s going to be a problem in the future.
Packard says “…everyone seems to have overlooked the fact that the country has already faced the most serious problem of unemployment resulting from automation :that can be imagined…” He is referring to the telephone business and the change automation has brought in the need for manual operators to run switchboards. Packard points out that if we had not automated this function “…we would at the present time require every woman in the country, between the ages of 20 and 60, to work ten hours a day just to handle the telephone calls being made today.”
In the field of measurement instrumentation, Packard gives several examples where the accuracy and speed of measurement has increased many times over the past ten years. He says it seems clear that the future will bring growing opportunities in the field of scientific instrumentation, and in other areas as well. Packard admits that some people will ask, if all this growth is to be expected, can’t they just continue to make their present product and do a good job. Probably yes, he says, but “…there are in fact many more opportunities at our doorstep, as I believe the experience of our own company will indicate.”
Packard give some sales figures, saying that HP sales have grown about 26 times since 1950 – from $2.3 million per year to over $60 million – about 40% per year “This has come about not because of our emphasis on growth for growth’s sake, but simply because we have been successful in adding new products which have been an important contribution to this field of electronic instrumentation. And we have concentrated on just this one job.”
Packard shows that, of the $60 million of growth in sales over the last five years, most has come substantially from products introduced since 1955. “Thus without these new products our sales would have grown less than 5% per year as compared to over 30% which we have reached because of these new products which were added to our line.”
Packard makes that point that he is not saying that it is better to grow at 25% than at 5 or 10%. He agrees that it does bring more problems and headaches. On the other hand, he feels a growth rate of 5 or 10% is not even keeping up with inflation plus the growth of the economy as a whole, let alone the growth rate of the field of scientific apparatus. And. if anyone does not wish to meet this challenge, Packard says, others will do so.
Packard says “…it seems to me that even if the amount of scientific work is not expanding, the magnitude of the advance in technology requires that better instrumentation be continually produced; and to the extent it can be produced, there is – and I think will continue to be – an opportunity for real solid growth. If we do indeed place maximum emphasis on making important contributions in our chosen fields of interest, our efforts will most likely result in a number of good new products year after year.
Packard talks a little about the cycle of a new product and says that, in their experience at HP, it usually takes about two years for a new product to be accepted in the market. “The build-up starts slowly, acceptance takes hold, saturation takes place and then volume levels off to a long term stable situation.”
Profit opportunities are greatest during the build-up stages, he says. “After saturation, the competition tends to set in, except in cases where we have come special proprietary situation and this competition tends to put great pressure on prices and profits in this long period of stable product life.”
Packard says that a study of the product cycle, as well as consideration of some other aims, led HP to add to their list of objectives – one related to profit. “And, we state this generally to the effect that we consider that profit is not the end and aim in business, but it is the proper measure of the contribution we are able to make. That profit, as well, is a means whereby we are able to continue to make these contributions.”
Moving from profit to finance, Packard says, that “When your business expands at the rate of 25 to 30 percent per year, some attention must be given to the resources available to support such growth” He acknowledges that “…with the investment community attracted to the so-called glamour industries, financing a growth situation is nowhere near as difficult as making a good growth situation in the first place and keeping it that way.”
Packard says HP has “…been able to go from a level of $2,300,000 in 1950 to a level of $60,000,000 in 1960 solely with resources generated from the reinvestment of the profits of our business” This requires that profits and cash flow returns increase total invested capital at the same, or more rapid rate, than the rate of sales increase.
Packard then says he wants to break down and analyze two factors because they are controllable in day-to-day management. “These two factors are the profit plus cash flow viewed as a percent of the sales dollar, and your capital turnover. Capital turnover is defined simply as the total annual sales dollars divided by total invested capital at the beginning of a period. By a simple exercise in elementary algebra, one can demonstrate that the percent of annual growth, which can be financed from profit alone, is equal to the percent of retained earnings and cash flow times your capital turnover. For our own company the product of these two factors has been held historically above 30 on the average, which is in excess of the average rate of growth during the past five years when the numbers have become large. By this process we have been able to provide the resources to maintain adequate financial strength over this entire period.”
Packard explains that this method is not the only way to finance a growing business. Resorting to the financial market for equity capital or other sources of capital. He gives the example of utility companies where the investment in plant assets is so high that it would take years of profits just to provide the plant needed to produce the profits.
Packard spends some time talking about the concern in the country that the labor force seems to be growing faster than the gross national product – with increased unemployment a possibility in coming years. He explores two solutions which are being considered. One is to increase investment in productive capital equipment, the other to increase investment in research and development. Packard feels correlations on these factors are rather poor and, furthermore, if one eliminates the effect of inflation the gross national product has actually been very constant at 3 percent over the period from 1909 to 1960. He concludes that it would probably be better for each company to make their own contribution by concentrating on how to grow in their own area.
Looking at foreign markets Packard tells of HP’s experience in moving into Europe. He describes it as having “…a very difficult problem on our hands, especially with the vastly lower labor rates, and with the nationalistic preferences together with the problems of exchange and duties. If we can find a way to make important contributions either in new products or in service or in sales methods we can, I think, increase substantially our market penetration, most particularly in Europe where the economy provides a good market for advanced kinds of instrumentation.”
Packard says they started out by providing better service and quicker delivery of parts. As a result they have been able to increase their market in Europe by 60 percent per year over the past two years – and it appears will do so in 1961 as well.
Packard feels the development of the common market will pose a difficult problem if internal trade barriers are removed and nationalistic feelings reduced. European competitors would have a market which is two-thirds the size of the US market. This would give them the market to support a better new product program.
For this reason Packard says they feel it is important to become established in Europe now. But he emphasizes that “the important aspect is not growth or diversification, but in trying to make a contribution in those fields where we have some capability. We hope to do this by a better job in development – better engineering, better manufacturing, and better sales and service. We believe by concentrating on excellence from a base in Europe we shall be able to maintain our position over the long haul. I think if these things can be accomplished, financing will be easy and diversification will not be necessary.”
Packard summarizes the subject of growth by reading the formal objective as to growth. “This objective is to let our company growth be determined primarily by our performance. It is limited on the one hand by the rate of growth we can finance from our current profits, and on the other hand by the rate at which we can build our product line and our market through customer acceptance and in accordance with other objectives.” He adds that HP uses this policy in considering the possibility of mergers and acquisitions of other firms as well.
Looking at two additional objectives which they have and which supplement the ones already discussed, Packard turns to their employment policy. He says he thinks the attitude is more important than the detail. And he feels they have been successful since they have “not had unions to contend with…”
Packard says “We want to provide employment conditions for our people that include the opportunity for them to share in the company’s success which they helped make possible; to provide job security based on their performance; and to try to provide for them the opportunity for personal satisfaction that comes from the sense of accomplishment in their work.”
Finally, they added an objective relating to corporate citizenship. “We say that we think it is up to us to meet the obligations of good citizenship by making contributions to the community and to the institutions in our society which generate the environment in which we operate. In accordance with this principal many of our people have participated in community affairs. We have done our share in supporting schools, universities, and other institutions and activities with financial help, and with the help of our people as well.”
Packard takes a few minutes to discuss a more important problem than any he has discussed thus far – “…a life and death struggle with this evil ideology of communism. While it may get out of hand and develop into a nuclear war with Russia or China some time in the future, even if it does not, we must all realize that peaceful coexistence is nothing more than a hollow phrase coined by the Russians to lull us into a sense of security and inaction.”
“We must never forget Krushchev’s statement, We will bury you and this is exactly what will happen to us, and to everyone in our free society and to everything that our free society stands for, unless we have the resolve and we undertake seriously to attempt to bury them first. In this problem the scientific apparatus industry has a very crucial role to play. The strength of the West against communism will be determined to a major degree by the scientific progress of our country, our Western allies, and by our ability to generate new scientific knowledge and reduce it to useful results of all kinds.”
“This, it seems to me, is the most important reason why all of us cannot afford to be satisfied with what we have done in the past. We must devote every resource at our command to discover new ways to make better instrumentation, we must attract the best people to our ranks and provide a creative environment for them, and so demonstrate to the world that capable people working in an atmosphere of individual freedom can produce more and better progress that a regimented people under the ruthless communist yoke.”
To do this will require, Packard says, “…that we place emphasis on making a contribution, and while profit is important, it should be used as a proper measure of the contributions we are able to make and not as an end in itself. If each of us in our own organization throughout the country do these things well, I have no doubt as to the outcome. With this kind of approach we shall learn that finance, growth and diversification are just minor problems, all in a day’s work, and that is as it should be.”
4/26/61, Typewritten prior draft of above speech with notations in Packard_s handwriting.
April 1961, Preliminary program of S.A.M.A._s 43rd Annual Meeting showing Packard
as one of the speakers.
5/8/61, Letter to Packard from Kenneth Anderson of SAMA complimenting him on his talk.
5/10/61, Letter to Packard from Bernard Kearney, President of The Torsion Balance Company, thanking him for coming to their meeting and speaking.
5/25/61, Letter from Margaret Paull, Packard’s secretary, to Kenneth Anderson of SAMA, asking about receiving a copy of his talk.
5/31/61, Letter to Margaret Paull from Kenneth Anderson enclosing three copies of the talk.
Box 2, Folder 47 – General Speeches
October 20, 1961, Talk at Boonton Radio Corporation New Building Dedication, Rockaway, N.J.
This speech moved to Box 1, Folder 19B. It is found in computer file DPSpeechesSUHP
Box 2, Folder 48 – General Speeches
November 9, 1961, The New Challenge to American Industry, Purchasing Agents Association, Los Angeles
11/9/61, Typewritten speech by Dave Packard
Packard says he approaches this problem not as an expert, “but simply as one who believes the time is late and that we must each encourage more attention to and more understanding of these most difficult problems of conflict with the Communists.” He says experienced people in the country are focusing on the problem, but “…it is important also that the average citizen have an understanding of and an opinion on these subjects before certain kinds of action can be undertaken.”
Packard feels people have not understood the complexities of the international problems and he makes the point that there are no simple solutions. Over the past years proposals have been made but these have been rather simple in concept – “sheer wishful thinking.” He gives a few examples : President Eisenhower seeking to achieve “an understanding with the Russians”, establishing trade and cultural exchanges. All wishful thinking.
Packard had visited Russia a few months prior and he tells of their representatives said trade between our two countries should be revived. But it was always on their terms, and with the expectation that we would come to learn that their way was the best way.
Military solutions are also proposed which Packard feels fall into the area of wishful thinking: massive retaliation, or total disarmament. He quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson who said that “Americans were characterized by a hunger for sudden performance.” Packard mentions a series of events around the world; Krushchev using the U-2 incident to destroy the Paris Summit Meeting, the wave of student demonstrations which the Communist apparatus inspired in Tokyo, preventing President Eisenhower’s trip there. These were reinforced by strife in Africa, Asia and Cuba, the Berlin wall, resumption of nuclear testing by the Russians. “This series of events should finally and completely dispel any idea that simple idealistic solutions are available to us.”
To Packard, it is “…surprising that this of events has come as a surprise to so many people in America and the free world….He quotes Lenin as saying “What does it matter if three-quarters of the world perish, if the remaining one-quarter is communist” And Lenin again, “We will first take Eastern Europe, then the masses of Asia. We will surround the United States which will be the last bastion of capitalism.”
Packard tells of Khrushchev talking to the Communist Congress on January 6, 1961 where he set the date for Communists taking over the world as somewhere in 1975, and saying they would use all forms of warfare to achieve this objective – including propaganda, infiltration, threats, and diplomatic negotiations.
Packard feels there some evidence “…we are finally moving away from some of these simpler concepts such as the massive retaliation theory which was the key to our military position right up to the past two or three years….I would like to point out in passing that massive retaliation has been of little vale to us in Korea, in Asia, in Berlin, and it was not effective then because we have never been willing to use the strength we have.”
Packard feels that the government “is beginning to see that we must build an effective second strike capability, we must build an effective brush fire force – a force that can deal with some of these local problems with conventional forces, and further we must implement our civil defense plans – and we must do all three of these things before we can really convince the Russians that we mean business wherever they try to move – and we must do these things before we can have any assurance that the peace can be maintained.”
Packard feels total disarmament is just another oversimplification – another kind of wishful thinking
“All this means simply as I see it that we are bound to put more effort into arms in the years ahead, and the next few years will be crucial. And this can be done, I believe, with assurance that it will increase the probability of peace rather than otherwise.”
Packard turns to the problem of subversion and infiltration. He says there is ample evidence that this is a serious problem. “Here again I do not believe there is a simple solution available to us. A frontal attack by militant right-wing groups could easily do more damage than good. The situation is too fraught with danger to be left alone.”
“…But continual vigilance is necessary in our schools – in our churches – and in our companies – and all of our institutions – to see that the communists and their fellow travelers are exposed for what they are wherever they appear. If this is done I believe the people of this country are sufficiently alert to the danger so adequate opposition to the communist inspired proposals will develop where it is needed.”
Packard says that even if we resolve the military problem and are able to control the Communists in our midst, “there is still one task which remains, and this task is for American business and American industry to demonstrate to the world, that our free enterprise system can continue to be superior to the communist system of economic slavery. The leadership of the West will finally be established only if our system continues to out produce the communist system in goods and services and in producing a better standard of living for all of the people, and further only if it succeeds in producing scientific accomplishment as well.”
“As Professor Pickering put it recently, within ten years we are likely to be able to sit by our television sets and watch a rocket put a man on the moon – will that rocket carry the flag of American freedom, or will that rocket carry the Hammer and Cycle (sic) – the flag of communist slavery. That event will signal the eventual domination of the world by Western Freedom, or the eventual domination of the world by Eastern communism.”
“That frames the New Challenge to American Industry and I believe we will measure up to this task.”
12/1961, Publication called Pacific Purchaser containing the full text of the above speech by Packard.
4/14/61, Copy of letter to Harlan Eastman, Beckman Instruments, apparently from bob Sundberg of HP who was making the arrangements for Packard’s talk at the Purchasing Agents conference. The letter tentatively accepts the November 9, 1961 date, but suggests Mr. Eastman check with Packard in August to confirm date.
4/25/61, Letter to Packard from Harlan Eastman, Beckman Instruments, thanking him for agreeing to speak at their conference and saying he will check with Packard in August.
5/3/61, Letter to Bob Sundberg from Harlan Eastman saying their group would be willing to pay Packard_s travel and hotel expenses.
8/18/61, Letter to Packard from Harlan Eastman asking if the November 9 date is still OK.
9/23/61, Copy of a letter to Harlan Eastman from Bob Sundberg of HP confirming the November 9 date.
9/25/61, Letter to Packard from Harlan Eastman confirming details for conference.
9/27/61, Copy of letter to Harlan Eastman from Margaret Paull, Packard_s secretary, saying Packard is away and as soon as he gets back she will tell him of Mr. Eastman need for publicity information soon.
10/31/61, Printed flyer announcing conference and Packard_s talk.
11/1/61, Letter to Packard from Harlan Eastman, sending the dinner program.
11/10/61, Letter to Packard from Harlan Eastman, thanking him for joining them and giving his talk.
11/13/61, Letter to Packard from W. O. Hokanson expressing appreciation for Packard_s talk.
Box 1, Folder 7 – Stanford
January 6, 1961, Faculty Club, Stanford
1/6/61, Handwritten speech by Packard to Faculty Club.
Packard describes the Board of Trustees and their responsibilities. He lists “Educate for useful pursuit in life”; and “Prohibit sectarian instruction, but to have taught the existence of an all wise and benevolent creator.” The Trustees give the President power to: “a. Prescribe duties of faculty, and b. Generally control education part of University.”
Packard says trustees are all busy successful men, “dedicated to Stanford.” Says they have asked the President to “sharpen up objectives for future,” saying that education “has been given a critical new role in society.”
He describes the growth seen ahead, and asks “Where are we going to get this kind of money?” Packard reviews grants, building plans, gifts, saying “Will have to find 20-30 million in gifts of 10,000 or more.” He speaks of the need to “hold very tight control until we see where we are going. No new projects until we begin to evaluate chances of success.”
Packard asks if Stanford will live up to challenges ahead -graduate programs, professional schools, undergraduate college, the “Freshmen problem”? ”
Packard says “From what I hear about Freshmen program students can easily go through entire Freshmen year and half of the second without ever meeting a Professor. Might be more realistic to get a few more Professors in classes and leave the students to their own devices in their residences instead of vice versa.” He refers to the idea of using Faculty Masters in Residence Halls as “Harvarditus – a disease Stanford has become susceptible to recently.” Packard goes on to talk of the Structure of Administration of Undergraduate Program. He lists the several Deans and expresses the “Hope some of you people get your heads together and do something – no a trustee problem.”
“Admissions closely related subjects.” “Intellectual capability is important, — scholars interested only in intellectual development” “No better contribution to future of world to try and select boys and girls who because of personality, energy, and their intellectual capability are likely to be future leaders and expose them to the intellectual atmosphere of a great University, grades and aptitude tests alone won’t do.”
On athletes: “If we stay in intercollegiate athletics in a serious way we must be more realistic on admissions, financial support, schedules. If we can’t be more realistic we ought to get out & face music now.”
“One of the most important objectives is to enlarge & strengthen the faculty. The Trustees would plead for balance in each department. If we must have Marxist economists on our faculty let’s also have some who are staunch advocates of the American Free Enterprise economy as well.”
“The Trustees would defend to the last man the right of Professor Baran to extol the virtues of Castro & his Communism; although none of us would applaud his speech as an example of objective scholarship, least of all the trustees who heard him. We were and are each deeply disappointed that not a single member of the entire Stanford Faculty has risen to defend the contrary view. This kind of situation dampens if even slightly (illegible). One of the objectives of Stanford’s program is to increase the intellectual ferment among the faculty and among students. I would remind you that good wine takes more than ferment – it takes good ingredients too. And a few bad grapes will spoil the batch. While it is true that too little ferment leaves you with only grape juice, too much ferment makes vinegar – and the process is irreversible.”
On the desire to give more emphasis to Humanities, Packard says he “…hopes some attractive & realistic proposals can & will be developed.”
“The trustees are concerned about many aspects of the University in addition to its financial needs. No doubt some of our concern comes from misunderstanding and in this we would all hope to know more about the academic aspects of the University. We are greatly impressed with fine progress Stanford has made in the last decade and we are aware of the possibility of even greater progress in the future. But we see the need not only in money alone but in critical examination and meticulous attention to the details of every aspect of the University. I would especially hope we can find a good inoculation for Harvarditus, Yaleitus, Europeanitus, and all others, and build Stanford to its own image of true leadership.”
Also included in this folder are several speeches given earlier by others, or Packard himself, apparently as research material for the above speech.
1/7/61 Typewritten letter to Packard from Alfred H. Grommon, Chairman of the Program Committee Stanford Faculty Club. Professor Grommon expresses pleasure and appreciation for Packard’s speech on 1/6/61 and responds to Packard’s comments concerning the fact that students may well enter their junior year before they have contact with a senior teacher. Professor Grommon laments the university emphasis on research as opposed to teaching and feels teaching must be considered more important than it has been.
1/12/61 Typewritten letter to Packard from Professor J. K. F. Oliphant. Professor Oliphant says Packard’s speech has “aroused a great deal of favorable comment.” He says the general tenor of comments have expressed appreciation to hear “a trustee who understands the major and pressing problems facing the University.”
1/13/61 Copy of typewritten letter from Packard to Professor Alfred H. Grommon who thanks Professor Grommon for his note of 1/7/61 and adds the thought that “If nothing else I hope my discussion at the Faculty Meeting left the impression that the Trustees are very much interested in the Faculty and its problems, and perhaps it will encourage all of you to let us know when we can be helpful.”
Box 1, Folder 8 – Stanford
July 20, 1961, Introducing Herbert Hoover, Pace Dinner, San Francisco
7/20/61, Typewritten speech titled “Remarks of David Packard Introducing The Honorable Herbert Hoover”, Dinner at Mark Hopkins Hotel
Packard notes the role of Universities in America saying they educate most of the PHD candidates in America and are therefore “a major source of teachers for all of our colleges and Universities. “Their task,” Packard says, is “to educate the best of our youth of today — the young men and young women who will be the leaders of America at the end of the Twentieth Century.” He points to Stanford as “one of the youngest of these leadership Universities.”
Packard then reviews some of the history of Stanford and how the founders wanted “A University of high degree…a center of invention and research.” Packard speaks of David Starr Jordan, Stanford’s first President, who said “We shall have a set of young men at Stanford such as have never been gathered together in America.”
Packard tells of “problems of the thirties” and the “stress of World War II” saying these brought into focus the “need for new leadership, new action, and new vision. Fortunately, the new leadership and new action came into being from the Trustees, from President Treasured, but most of all from the vision of the great team we have today in Dr. Wallace Sterling, as our President, and Dr. Frederick Terman, as our Provost.”
Packard then speaks of specific examples of progress at Stanford: moving the Medical School to the Campus, a “brilliant” engineering faculty, appointments to the Business School which attracted nation-wide attention,. Adding “outstanding people in History, in English, in the Classics, in Psychology and in other schools and departments as well.”
Packard continues saying “The strength of our Nation in the future will not depend upon its vast national resources, nor in the advantage of its geography, as in the past, but solely upon the strength, capability, and the vision of its people. And in this, Stanford, and all of our other great Universities have an unmistakable and unavoidable responsibility.” Packard feels Stanford has “an opportunity to undertake this responsibility, and opportunity which is unequaled at any other privately supported University in America.”
“It is for this most worthy objective we need your help.” Packard says that “We intend to do everything in our power to continue the emphasis at Stanford on the importance of the individual and on the great strengths of the free society — and the free enterprise concept.”
“These great underlying principles which have served Stanford so well are the same that have brought America from its position as a second rate Nation at the turn of the century to its position today as the most powerful Nation the world has ever seen….These are the principles which have made America great and it is time that these be reaffirmed and restrengthened in our great Universities.”
Packard describes how “A young man by the name of Herbert Hoover enrolled in the first class at Stanford [October 1, 1891]. How he devoted himself to the study of engineering and how, “…through his participation in extra curricular activities he developed an outstanding ability in organization and management…He has understood well the importance of freedom for the individual and the great driving force of the free enterprise concept.. It is indeed befitting then that he has agreed to serve as the Honorary Chairman of the PACE Program — for there is no better way to begin this Plan of Action for a Challenging Era for Stanford than to reaffirm those principles which have served our University and our Country well.”
“There is no living American who has contributed so much to his Country and to the welfare of mankind as our beloved Chief. We are all tremendously pleased and highly honored that he can be with us tonight. It is my privilege to present to you the Honorable Herbert Hoover.”
7/20/61 Typewritten draft of above speech, with handwritten notations by Dave Packard.
Box 1, Folder 19 – HP Management
January 13, 1961, Fifth Annual Management Conference, Monterey
This folder contains loose papers from the conference: agenda and handouts. It is apparent that determining who had authority to do what was a big topic of workshops.
Box 1, Folder 19A – HP Management
March 19, 1961, Meeting of HP Sales people at, IRE, New York, NY
3/19/61, Packard’s handwritten notes, written on hotel stationary, in preparation of this meeting.
Packard tells the audience that 10 years ago he told this group: “Meet quota this year.” He adds that it is just as easy to meet a quota today – set the stage for the future.
Packard says that four years prior he realized that they must build for “Unlimited Horizons” “Bring each area of the company into the light of critical analysis. Take time but do the job right.”
Packard notes the need for long range planning on manpower, engineers, managers, education. And long range planning for Stanford Plant, Loveland, Germany, subsidiaries.. Plus long range planning on manufacturing methods, quality, customers, proprietary position. Long range planning for new products, implement new product program.
“We want to make every HP instrument so good customers can’t possibly afford to have anything else.”
Packard returns to long range plans – in foreign business – HPSA, GMBH, German sales, English Program. And also Long Range Plans in management structure of company. Small units for action.
Long range plans in service, parts, standards, facilities.
“All of these efforts toward making each area of the company meet highest performance standards.” He says we should have “no illusions we have accomplished anywhere as much as we should have.”
Packard tells the group that what they heard this morning from our “own stellar team” will give some idea of the enthusiasm, energy keen ability to apply to this task.
And, he says, “We are not unmindful of the magnificent progress you people have made in the sales job. And, he admonishes them to have “…no illusion that you can rest on your laurels, in fact the job of selling HP instruments is becoming fantastically complex and will become more so.”
Speaking of their sales job, Packard tells them to explain why HP instruments are better than the competition’s. “To do the selling job, someone has to make the customer know what we have to sell – convince him of the help we can give, activate his imagination. This takes effort, great effort from all sides advertising, direct mail…, ??.
He tells them this is their responsibility – knowledgeable men call on customers and convince him that HP is a great company – the product is just what he needs, and close the sale. Packard tells them during the next week to strengthen their ability to do the job which we expect in 1961. “Spend as much time at the booth as possible.” He tells the factory experts to carry the message, and the sales people to “Get the customers into the booth so we can give them the message. Grab them by the collar and haul them into the booth..”
“Our boys and girls in Palo Alto are steamed up as never before. Get on the band wagon with us. Let’s show these other outfits how a job should be done.”
Box 1, Folder 19B – General Speeches
October 20, 1961, Talk at Boonton Radio Corporation New Building Dedication, Rockaway, N.J.
10/20/61, Copy of typewritten text of Packard’s comments
Packard notes that they are gathered in a beautiful autumn setting to dedicate a new building, and he says “As I look over this landscape I am reminded of the years I spent in Northern New York some 25 years ago – hiking through the woods – picking choke cherries – fishing and hunting deer. And the atmosphere of my new job was as peaceful and as stimulating as the countryside in autumn, for I had just finished a university course in California and was undertaking my first job at the General Electric Company in Schenectady.”
He tells how they were working on developing new ideas for vacuum tubes, “using metal envelopes instead of glass. We were developing a new kind of power tube for industrial use – the ignitron which could control unheard of powers.”
Packard recalls his resentment at being required to punch in and out of the time clock – the Wage and Hour Act having been recently passed. He says he worked many hours, usually 10 or 12 hours a day, and often on Saturday as well “My pay of $28 a week was enough to live on and there were challenging things to be done.
He says “There was very little work on military devices – at the company the Aircraft and Marine Department made motors for submarines and naval gear of various sorts but World War II seemed very remote – the danger of Hitler was not apparent to us and we were looking into a future which promised a peaceful life for the whole world and the opportunity for a young engineer to do great things.
“It was about this time and in very much the same atmosphere and spirit that Mr. Loughlin [William Loughlin founded Booton Radio Corporation in 1935] was thinking that his newly developed device called the Q meter might make an important contribution to this youthful field of radio engineering – though little did he anticipate, I suspect, that this Q meter would become such an important device – or that this youthful field of Radio engineering would become the great electronic industry that it is today.
“As one views the combined changes of the Russian Military threat which now has the ability to destroy 140 million Americans and reduce our productive lands to a blackened waste in a matter of hours – these capabilities combined with a godless disregard for the rights of the individual – with the ideas that an individual person is useful only to the extent and only as long as he serves to promote the purposes of the government.
“As one views these facts the conclusion becomes clear and unavoidable – we must individually and collectively devote our strength, our abilities, and our resources, to the preservation of our country, both its land and its ideals.
“And even within our own boundaries – the rising threat to the free enterprise system which has enabled the United States – with 1/6 of the world population to generate half of the world’s wealth – threat from people who think progress can come from restricting work – from not growing crops – from people who think that big business is inherently evil but big government is inherently good.
“Indeed we are facing some of the most serious problems in the history of our country.
“And it is therefore proper that in dedicating this new building here today that it be dedicated to the strengthening and preservation of our free society – and a lesser objective is not worthy of our efforts and abilities.
“But in view of these great and frightening developments – what can be done?
“The solution lies in strengthening wisdom and strength – we would be presumptuous to assume we as individuals will have wisdom equal to the task – but we can and do have an important responsibility in this strengthening.
“Our objective to design and build the best of scientific instruments – design, manufacture, service – imagination, craftsmanship and industry. We do in fact have scientific strength.
“We must make contributions for the future. We must also prove to the world that our free enterprise system is more efficient – that it not only produces a superior product – but also provides better opportunities for people.
“And so lets join today in dedicating this new facility – not to continue the accomplishments of the past, but rather to the challenging opportunities of the future.
Box 1, Folder 35D – HP Management
10/26/61, HP memorandum from Lee Seligson to members of a development program for engineers telling them they have been selected for the program
11/1/61, Internal HP memo to Packard from Lee Seligson on the subject of the development program for engineers. He reminds Packard of the date and time he is to speak to the group.
11/1/61, Typewritten program for the training class. The objectives of the program are stated as: “…to explore the objectives and philosophy of HP in light of its present organizational structure; to study some of the fundamentals of organization theory; and to relate these principles to the Engineer by examining his role in the organization.”
11/14/61 through 3/1/62 – Typewritten schedule of training classes.
11/28/61, Text of Packard’s remarks to the class of engineers – handwritten, ten pages long. The title is: “The Reasons for this Program.”
Packard gives two reasons for the program: “To help you do your job better and therefore to help the company do its job as a company better; [and]… to help you understand the objectives of the Company, and the opportunities that are available to you here and hopefully to give you some guidance and help so you can better avail yourself of the opportunities.”
