David Packard

“A company has a responsibility to its employees. After all, they are the ones who make the products. They are the ones who sell the products. They are the ones who service the products. They are the ones who deal with the customers.”

“Management by objective works - if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of the time you don't.”

“We have a responsibility to our employees to recognize their dignity as human beings.”

“The best and most talented people are not attracted to a company that doesn't have a sense of purpose.”

“Take risks. Ask big questions. Don't be afraid to make mistakes; if you don't make mistakes, you're not reaching far enough.”

“The biggest competitive advantage is to do the right thing at the worst time.”

“Why are we here? I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a company's existence, we have to go deeper and find the real reasons for our being.”

“To be useful, a company must have a purpose that is truly of service to the customer.”

“The improvement of our way of life is more important than the question of whether we have been more or less successful in the past.”

“Don't be a hero. Don't have a great idea that you have to convince everybody else of.”

“Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.”

“A group of people get together and exist as an institution we call a company so they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately – they make a contribution to society, a phrase which sounds trite but is fundamental.”

“You shouldn't gloat about things you've done. You ought to start over and do something better.”

“More organizations die of indigestion than starvation.”

“The great corporations of this country were not built by just beautiful people.”

“I think you'll find that if you have a sound basis for your beliefs, you will not be easily swayed.”