PIJ ~ HP {~h/aUen~g.es 'n e COlnpetltlon .~~ IN THIS ISSUE little over a year ago, Understandably, he's slowing the I was working in my pace a bit this year. There's no way office when I sensed he can continue to appear on every someone standing in the videotape, answer every HP Desk doorway. I looked up to message, return every phone call and see Lew Platt, HP chainnan, president make every personal appearance he's and CEO. asked to. After all, there are a few "My letter for the next issue of other things involved in running a $20 MEASURE is due today," Lew said, billion global company with 96,000 "but I'm not quite through writing it; employees. it needs a little more work. Would it You hear a lot these days about be okay if I bring it to you first thing the disintegration-even death-of tomorrow morning?" Hewlett-Packard's famed culture, the I paused for a moment-more to HP way. That won't happen with Lew On the cover: Illustrator Pete collect my thoughts than to ponder in charge. He truly represents the McDonnell uses a sports the request-then said, "Sure. Tomor­ traits that Bill Hewlett and Dave metaphor to symbolize the fiercely competitive business row morning is fine." Packard envisioned in the HP way. world in which HP operates in To me, this anecdote describes Lew leads by example. an update of a 1987 MEASURE Lew Platt pertectly. Lew's leadership should be enough story on HP's competition. He could have had his executive to motivate all HP people to work assistant, Myrt McCarthy, deliver the harder and smarter. But if it isn't, message. He could have sent a note or there's a host of fierce competitors called. He could have said nothing at out there that surely ~ilL Writer all. CEOs, after all, have better things Andrew Ould and researcher Nancy to do with their time. Fong profile some of HP's toughest But it was important to Lew to foes in their cover story, which begins deliver the message personally. And on page 4. it was important to him to spend the How will HP fare as its competitors extra time getting his MEASURE let· get tougher and tougher? Lew says he ter just right. wouldn't trade HP's position with any­ Stories about Lew's personal touch one. I'm glad he's on our side. and attention to detail are pretty com­ Jay Coleman mon throughout HP. You often hear MEASURE editor about the warm note, the thoughtful telephone call and the in-person visit to an employee's cubicle. That concern for individuals extends well beyond the corporate offices. As you'll read in his letter on page 29, Lew traveled more than 165,000 miles in 1993, visiting with world leaders, customers and employ­ ees. By all accounts, his frrst year leading HP was a remarkable one. 2 MEAST.lRE THE INSIDE STORIES FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 4 It's a tough fight 12 People In an update to a 1987 story, MEASURE looks at Long-time HP technology chief some of HP's top competitors in each of its Barney Oliver continues his focus major business areas. on froding intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. 15 Everything is shipshape in New Zealand Photographer Joseph Brtgnolo focuses on HP 26 Your turn New Zealand and its nautical influence. MEASURE readers share their views on matters of importance. 18 The China connection An Englishman from an HP division in Scotland 28 On my mind Page 15 is helping develop the telecommunications HP employees in Brazil reach out infrastructure in China. to help a co-worker in the United Kingdom with a gift of love. 20 And the winners are... It's not easy to take home the President's 29 Letter from Lew Platt Quality Award. How did the first winners do it? HP's chaiITIlan, president and CEO summarizes 1993-an exhilarating 22 The newest secret in Swiss banking and exhausting year. Holders of Swiss bank accounts today want their money to make money-not just hide 30 ExtraMEASURE there. HP survives a Southern California earthquake-and a "monster" 24 A "Touching" solution root-in news from around the Page 22 A dairy store chain teams with HP to make HPworld. convenience-store buying even more convenient. MEASURE Editor: MEASURE is published six times a year for employees and associates of Hewlett-Packard Company. It is produced Jay Coleman· by Corporate Communications, Employee Communications section, Mary Anne Easley, manager Address corre­ spondence to MEASURE, Hewlett-Packard Company, 20BR, POBox 10301, Palo Alto, California 94303-0890 U.S.A, Associate editors: The telephone number is l415) 857 -4144; the fax number is 1415) 857 -7 299 Cornelia Bayley, Betty Gerard eCopynght 1994 by Hewlett-Packard Company. Material may be reprinted with permission. Art Director: *Member, International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Annene Yatovitz Graphic designer: Hewlett-Packard Company is an international manufacturer of measurement and computation products and systems Thomas J. Brown recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP employs 96.600 people worldwide and had revenue of $20.3 billion in its 1993 fiscal year. Circulation: Susan Canora Intern: Nancy Fong *MEASURE magazine is printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink March-April 1994 3 • By Andrew Quid The computer and electronics business resembles sports One competitor on this year's list, SpaceLabs Medical, in more ways than you might at first imagine. was spun off from a company on the 1987 list, Westmark In sports, teams win by having the right players, choos­ International, in 1992 and is now a separate company. ing the right strategies and executing those strategies Another of this year's top competitors-Lexmark-was better than their competitors. spun off by IBM in a 1991 leveraged buyout. Yet, because the competition is so intense, few teams Given how this list has changed in the last seven years, manage to stay on top of the standings year after year. imagine how different it will look in another seven years. This is as true in business as in sports. Consider, for If anything, the pace of change likely will accelerate. example, MEASURE's last list of HP's competitors, which appeared in the November-December 1987 issue. Ten companies from that list of 18 don't appear this rli~ HEWLETT year, including such competitors as Prime Computer (now ~~PACKARD Computervision), Data General and Wang Laboratories. Other key competitors-notably, IBM, Digital Equip­ Hewlett-Packard • Revenue: 520.3 billion ment Corporation (DEC) and Tektronix-are going Company • Earnings: 51.2 billion through serious restructuring. All three are reducing • Founded: 1939 • R&D: 8,9% their workforce and have replaced their CEO in the last • Headquarters: Palo Alto, HP designs, manufactures and two years. California services electronic equipment for measurement, analysis and In the 1980s, Apollo Computer was doing a lot of things • Employees: 96,600 (58,900 U.S,l computation. HP's products are right in the engineering-systems market. HP took notice used in industry, business, engi­ • Manufacturing/R&D: 54 cities neering, science, medicine and and acquired Apollo in 1989 for $500 million-HP's largest in 16 countries education. acquisition to date. • Sales/Service offices: approxi­ mately 600 offices in 110 countries 4 MEASURE Computer Products Organization HP NetServer LM In the inkjet printer market, the big news is the shift to Canon makes cameras and According to market research­ color printing. In 1993, HP camera accessories, copiers ers, Canon has between 15 and Canon and other business machines, 20 percent of the worldwide sold about 2 million color mask aligners for semiconduc­ inkjet printer market, compared DeskJet printers world­ Canon Inc. tor chip production, special­ with HP DeskJet's 60 percent purpose lenses and electronic market share in 1993. wide. That's a 122 percent • Founded: 1937 components. During the first six months of increase from the 900,000 • Headquarters: Tokyo 1993, Canon's total sales were units HP sold the year before. • Employees: 67,000 The business world is full of $4.9 billion, down 3 percent paradoxes, and HP's relation­ from the year-earlier period. In the laser printer mar­ • Revenue: 515.3 billion ship with Canon is one of the Canon said its pretax profit ket, networked printers are • Earnings: $287.2 million oddest. Canon is one of HP's dropped 61 percent to 5153 one of the fastest-growing • R&D: 5.3% most important partners million. Canon cited sluggish because it makes the engines demand in Japan and Europe market segments. This for HP's LaserJet family of and a stronger yen for the growth is being driven by printers. Canon is also HP's profit drop. the increased number primary competitor in inkjet printers, which Canon sells of personal computers under the BubbleJet name. connected to local-area networks. In the low end of the Lexmark develops and sells development cycles have been personal printers, typewriters, cut in half, to 18 months. And market, the HP LaserJet 4L keyboards and supplies. unlike HP, which buys its laser has been very successful. printer engines from Canon, HP's first laser printer to In 1991, IBM sold 90 percent of Lexmark builds its own printer Lexmark (privately held Lexmark in a leveraged buyout engines. list for less than $1,000, the company) to Clayton & Dubilier Inc., a pri­ IBM remains Lexmark's big­ LaserJet 4L has attracted • Founded: 1991 vate investment company. IBM gest customer, and Lexmark many first-time laser printer retained a 10 percent stake.