Re: Keeping engaged during ups and downs
Hi Barb,
A good question, about staying engaged during a lot of distractions. I guess it's not too much different than what any of us would do in the same situation - focus on what one can control. HP at 300,000 employees is about the size of Pittsburgh - focusing on the positive needs to be a willful decision. It's also important to keep in mind we come into work to make something useful for others. As cliched as it sounds, this is easy to forget when the press coverage can make it seem like we're on a stage as its own end.
We are also lucky to have a cultural legacy from our founders, Bill and Dave. Our former CTO listed these quotes of theirs for when "he needs a kick in the pants."
Thanks again for the good question.
Louis Kim
Vice President, Advanced Platforms Group
Hewlett-Packard
Quotes from Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard:
1. The greatest success goes to the person who is not afraid to fail in front of even the largest audience.
2. Set out to build a company and make a contribution, not an empire and a fortune.
3. The best possible company management is one that combines a sense of corporate greatness and destiny, with empathy for, and fidelity to, the average employee.
4. The biggest competitive advantage is to do the right thing at the worst time.
5. A company that focuses solely on profits ultimately betrays both itself and society.
6. Corporate reorganizations should be made for cultural reasons more than financial ones.
7. A frustrated employee is a greater threat than a merely unhappy one.
8. The job of a manager is to support his or her staff, not vice versa and that begins by being among them.
9. The best business decisions are the most humane decisions. And, all other talents being even, the greatest managers are also the most human managers.
… 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.
Barb;94665 said:
As a matter of fact I listened to it twice! I was particularly interested in his comments about the culture. HP has had a rocky few years, for sure. I wouldn't imagine all that being an environment easy for innovators.
Louis, if you are indeed reading: How did you keep your team motivated during periods of bad press and times where it appeared, at least to the public, that HP was on a downward trend?
