Lincoln Chafee: “3 days ago in Palo Alto, CA, a very remarkable and truly great American died, David Packard. David Packard deserves…”

“3 days ago in Palo Alto, CA, a very remarkable and truly great American died, David Packard. David Packard deserves ranking with the most innovative and outstanding builders and manufacturers in our Nation's history. He and his partner, Bill Hewlett, were the fathers of the electronic industry in Silicon Valley. Starting just 60 years ago, literally, in a garage, David Packard and Bill Hewlett began building an innovative audio oscillator under the name of the Hewlett-Packard Co. How did they choose the name Hewlett-Packard? To decide whose name came first, they flipped a coin, and Dave lost. His name came second. From that humble beginning, just 60 years ago, grew a company that today has more than 100,000 employees and sales last year of $31.5 billion. It is a worldwide leader in the electronics industry. What a success story. A great part of the success, Mr. President, of Hewlett-Packard has come about because of the management style which could be called managing by objective, namely, setting goals and giving employees wide latitude in achieving those goals. This was the style that Dave Packard believed in deeply. Obviously, it works. But David Packard's achievements went beyond his success with Hewlett-Packard. He was a philanthropist who did much more than write out a check. He became deeply involved with the projects to which he contributed.”