Conference 7.286::digital

    I received this note via mail a few days ago.  I found it to be
    rather strangely worded, and I wonder if anyone else had the same
    impression:
    
    > While such a book may turn out to be successful for the authors, it
    > does not contribute to the company's goals.  We do not meet our
    > business objectives through the writings of independent entrepreneurs,
    > and we do not want such projects to be encouraged.

    Okay--so DEC's primary goal is business and profit.  What does writing
    a book have to do with the company's goals?  How would it help or
    hurt business?  ("Gee, J.L., I just read that history of DEC.  Cancel
    all our VAX orders.")  I fail to see the remotest connection between
    DEC's "business objectives" and writing a book.

    The quality of the authors would be a concern, but Win specifically
    stated that they were among the best and it wasn't an issue.
    
    Uncle Ken is known to be a very private person.  Could this be the
    real reason?
    
    I find the reason for refusing the request, and the subsequent
    hard-line/don't-cooperate message both difficult to believe.  If
    this is the best that Corporate Public Relations can do, then my
    opinion of that group has dropped considerably.

    Re: .1
    
     Pete, I pretty much felt the same way when I read the memo. My
    impression is that, since they have declined the book offer, they
    don't want any employee to give out any information to outsiders.
    Obviously, tying up an employee's time to provide info for an
    unauthorized book would cost the company money.
    
     Personally, I can't see how the book would hurt DEC....particularly
    since the authors have asked for cooperation (not all authors do).
    I expect the book will still be written, but will contain much more
    speculation masquerading as fact than it would have if Ken and company
    had decided to cooperate.
    
     There is more to this memo than they're telling us, I think. The
    wording is definitely murky and deserving of consideration for the
    obfuscation award.....
    
    
                                Ken
    

They aren't saying the book would hurt DEC, but they are saying that they don't
think the book will help DEC.

I think .1 hit the real bottom line -- Ken is simply not interested in publicity
of any sort.

/john

    It doesn't really sound that surprising.  Privacy, humility, and
    a focus on the job at hand, instead of the publicity of recent
    successes all seem to be perfectly in character.  I sort of like
    it.  It's refreshing, compared the kind of blatant narcissism that
    seems to be so popular lately.
    
    For what it's worth.
    
    tim
    

    Perhaps they're only interested if a Pulitzer is guaranteed? :-)
    
    Seriously, Data General has often said that "Soul of a New Machine"
    didn't really help them a lot, though it did attract some employment
    inquiries (why, I'll never know!).  I really don't see that a
    "The Digital Story" (a "mini" series? :-)) would do us any good.
    I'd rather have our products and reputation in the marketplace
    sell for us.
    
			Steve

    Perhaps Ken and the Executive Committee are writing their own book
    and don't want sales hurt. Now what about a marketing plan
    	Everyone needs a media kit
    	Then a licence per reader to access it
    	Then an update service and telephone support on questions
    We could build a business on that
    
    Seriously I don't think a company history or whatever would do us
    any good though no doubt someone someday will write a book on what
    made/makes DEC a success of the 80's,90's... It could also use quite
    a lot of DEC resource.
    
    Andrew Dodd UK SWAS Welwyn

    I actually think a book about Ken Olsen and Digital would be very
    good for the company.  Consider that the book about Tom Watson and
    also "The IBM Way" were viewed (in some circles) as very bad publicity
    for IBM, but Tom Peters' book helped Digital a lot.  Why was Peters'
    book helpful?  Because it portrayed most of the good things about
    where we work.
    
    I'd say "Go for it"...
    
    BobW

    I agree it's probably Ken's wish for privacy. Maybe he just isn't
    into doing the Iacocca trip and running for political office. :-)
    
    (Not that I don't think he'd be a lot better than some of the choices
    we're being faced with)
    
    Jim
    

    Of course, if Digital openly says "no books, please", then some
    enterprising authors will be all the more interested in writing
    one.  "Unauthorized" books sound more interesting anyway, don't
    they?
    
    A small matter of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the
    US of A means that someone can write the book with or without
    the subject's permission.  Digital just doesn't want to be involved.
    Also within the company's rights.

    Hopefully, if a book is written the forward will not contain the
    following text:
    
    	"This book was prepared with no assistance from Digital Equipment
         Corporation... our requests for cooperation were refused."
    
    Lee

    No big deal.  It might as well say:
    
    		This page intentionally left blank.
    
    On the serious side, I agree with the comparison to the Peters'
    book(s).  That probably did do us some good, and in a format where
    we were part of a survey of select (dare I rub that old worn cliche'?)
    excellent few.  Notice how old Tom isn't too fond of Big Blue lately,
    too...
    
    Privacy, humility, focus on the job at hand.  It takes a certain
    amount of character to spurn the bright lights.  A bunch.  Bravo!
    
    Creamed liver on toast?  ughhhh.
    

    It takes either humility to spurn the bright lights, or...
    
    paranoia.

    I find it hard to mention humility and DECworld at the same time,
    but maybe I don't understand the marketing definition of the word.
    
    Geoff

    One might look at this the following way:
    (My first reaction was also: Why the hell wouldnt they assist...
    then I started thinking (this happens only when I am noting BTW))
    PR assumes that the book will turn out to be favorable to Ken and
    DEC anyway, because the writers are good and honest.
    Now, if there had been a "Thanks to ...." on the first page,the
    reader could say: "Ok, this a DEC PR exercise" and such taking
    away most of it's value.
    I would even suspect that authors do get some help, but without
    any publicity or obligations, so that the authors are able to
    present it as really their's and not DEC's.
    
    Fred
    

    	If it was a real good book, could it get BANNED IN BOSTON? 
    That would make it a top ten seller. 
    
    	How about a movie? Let's get a movie about DEC "BANNED IN BOSTON"!
    
    Getting back to the real world, if Ken wants privacy then I for
    one will not fault him for that. The news media does a lot of good,
    but at a great expense. I'm tired of seeing people crying and their
    hearts bleeding over some VERY PERSONAL tragedy, plastered on the
    front page of the newspaper or the 6 o'clock news just to make some
    reporter look good. People need and want privacy. When they request
    it, let's give it to them!

I don't think privacy is the issue here. Ken Olsen has built a mighty
corporation that is a thorn in the side of a traditional monolith (big blue).

The story they want to tell is not about Ken's private life but how he went
from a handful of people and parts in 1957 to what digital is now (A
public-held company). Hardly an invasion of privacy.

Lee

    Does anyone know when this book is to be released?  I vaguely remember
    a date of October in a notesfile somewhere but I can't find it now.
    
    Paul

    
     There have been excerpts from the book in the last two day's Boston
    Globe business sections. Yesterday's was about de Castro's leaving
    DEC to start DG. Today's is about Gordon Bell's leaving.
    
    
     -mike
    

    Also in the 10/03/88 COMPUTERWORLD entitled:
    
    "How DEC passed up the PC boom"
    
    /Ed

Got my copy last night at Wordsworth in Harvard Square.  From a brief glance,
the reporters talked to a lot of ex-Dec vice-presidents who had a lot to say.
Lots of friends are mentioned in the index.

There are long chapters on the PRO-350 (and Avram's viewpoint seems
well represented), Jupiter, and Venus.

It will probably make for fascinating reading, and long (and possibly
inappropriate-for-notes) discussions.

From what I saw, the writing is pretty prosaic.

The only serious problem with the book is that it didn't say anything about
DECtalk :-)

Martin.

       How Much?
                                             Denny

I think it was $18.95, but Wordsworth gives a discount (15%, more if
it makes the best seller list).

Martin.

    what is the book title, author, publisher and ISBN number - so my
    local book emporium can order it, if not in stock?
    
    	-Barry-
    

The Ultimate Entrepreneur
The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation

by: Glenn Rifkin and George Harrar.
Contemporary Books.  ISBN 0-8092-4559-0
$19.95.

A quote at random:

"[Gordon] Bell's engineering meetings were rituals within DEC.  They
started out quietly, with fifteen-minute overviews of the agenda,
but inevitably dissolved into shouting matches of apparent chaos
and animosity.  Somehow, they always ended on a high note, engineers
streaming out of the conference room smiling.

Bell's enthusiasm was infectious.  His quirks and idiosyncrasies endeared
him even to those who didn't understand a word he said."

M.