David Packard Writes HP Epitaph

ewhac writes "David W. Packard, son of HP's co-founder of the same name, obviously has some strong feelings on the merger between HP and Compaq. Today he shared those feelings on a poster put up in the lobby at the Stanford Theatre. The text of his message appears below. David W. Packard is president of The Stanford Theatre Foundation, a non-profit organization formed in the 1980's to save the classic Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, CA, from destruction. He is also the son of HP co-founder David Packard, and has been very close to the company and The HP Way."

ewhac continues: "Today, he shared his thoughts on the merger in the form of a poster placed in the Stanford Theatre lobby:

Hewlett Packard
1938 -- 2002
R.I.P.

The Stanford Theatre still exists today only because of the employees of the Hewlett Packard Company. Without their achievements over the years, there would have been no foundation to purchase and restore this theatre.

Palo Alto might have had one more book store, or perhaps another restaurant. Architects had plans ready for a new "Casablanca Cafe" at this location when the Packard Foundation rescued the theater in 1987.

The Hewlett Packard Company was founded in 1938 in a garage on Addison Street only a few blocks from where you are now standing. Back then, the Stanford Theatre was showing brand new movies. In 1938 you could have seen Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby and Holiday . You could have seen Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood . You could have seen Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Ethel Merman, and Tyrone Power in Alexander's Ragtime Band . You could have seen Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur in Frank Capra's You Can't Take It With You . You still can see these same movies at the Stanford Theatre. Our audiences know that they are truly timeless.

The HP Way also touched many people's lives. Most of us expected that it would last forever -- that it would prove as timeless as a Frank Capra movie. But those entrusted with the duty to safeguard it have exercised their legal right to make another choice. Dura lex, sed lex. The law is harsh, but it is the law.

HP employees are now on a new ship, being taken on a new voyage. The company has even changed its stock symbol to HPQ to stress that the "old" HP is gone. For the sake of the surviving employees, of course I hope for a good outcome. But it is hard to imagine that their leaders can invent something better than what they left behind.

David W. Packard
The Stanford Theatre Foundation.

"The San Jose Mercury News also has a short article about Packard's message.

"Editorial Content: HP's road to the merger has been the subject of much lunchtime controversy out here. As one of the "founders" of Silicon Valley, Hewlett Packard has for decades been a highly respected institution who earned their reputation through solid engineering and research, and by creating a legendary workplace envied the world over.

"Especially in the Valley, people within and without HP came to feel as David Packard did; that The HP Way would survive management fads and fickle stockholders, and serve as a lasting example of How To Do It Right. But HP's current management has won the right to move onward; to where, no one is sure.

"Though the company is still there, the HP mythos and The HP Way seem to be gone. All anyone can do now is watch and see what happens next."

Comments

Woe is me

[Drunken_Jackass]

"the HP way"? What the hell is that?

Sure they were revolutionaries for their time, but then again, so were a lot of other companies.

When i think of HP now (or three months ago) i think of crappy Sam's Club PC's and overrated Inkjet printers. There's nothing innovative about that!

Re:HP's demise is important

[stoolpigeon]

If you think a corporate merger and the death of a human being are of equal significance you are sadly mistaken as to the nature of the universe. Your sense of priorities is not just wrong it is bent.

BUT - when they do die, if I am still alive, I will be upset but I will also completely understand as it is a part of the reality that we live in. Sadly our culture does not handle death very well. But I refuse to view the 'death' of a corporate culture as being on par with the end of a human life.

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Re:It wasn't "rubbish" -- mod this shit down

[stoolpigeon]

I've never been called a 'snot-nosed trust-fund Communist' before. Made for the best laugh of my day.

Since you don't know jack about the people who post on /. it is usually a good idea to refrain from attacking their person. Go after the ideas, the statements, but not the person.

Ooooo - the HP Way started silicon valley. Is that praise of them or a judgement of guilt?

Your arrogance keeps you from thinking rationally or being able to put together any kind of decent argument.

'Asswipe' - yep, I've been called that before. It's funny that you use it in the same sentence as the word 'respect'.

You prove my point - the company did something in the past and does nothing now. This is how it has been and will be. Has anyone died as a result of the merger? No? Does the merger and the end of the 'HP way' have any major impact on society, culture or history? Nope.

Then it is just not that big of a deal. Get over it.

I'm getting a lot of flack for my 2 posts - I really did expect to get modded down as you suggest and I'm kind of surprised I haven't been yet. But what is funny is that most people are flaming me as ACs and have very little of substance to say. This leads me to feel that I am correct in my opinion. Thanks for the confirmation whoever you are.

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Let's lament the "old IBM" while we're at it

[smagruder]

Let's get real here. Change happens. I'm a former IBMer who worked for that company before their big (and badly needed) changes in the 1990's. Do I lament the tons of dead wood IBM had on staff? Do I lament the socialist society IBM built within? Do I lament the multitudes of poor quality products IBM produced due to extremely poor management practices (and the aforementioned dead wood)? Of course not. The "HP Way" is dead. Who gives a shit?!?

Re:It wasn't "rubbish" -- mod this shit down

[stoolpigeon]

"Slashdot karma is something you earn"

Now I know your delusional.

I started this morning at 47 - made 2 posts to this thread and you should see it going up and down, up and down. It's been a couple hours and I'm at 46 right now. But that's only because all the points that would have pushed me over 50 are wasted.

Karma is kind of a game. It is not in any like respect or earned.

Now go away.

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