Conference 7.286::digital

2139.0. "Bob Palmer's DVN on 9/30/92" by USPMLO::GILLIGAN (Got my happy helmet strapped on) Wed Sep 30 1992 15:55

Hopefully I've extracted this correctly from VTX.


  Following is the full text of Bob Palmer's address to employees which was 
  delivered over the Digital Video Network, September 30, 1992.  Starting 
  Oct. 1, videotaped copies of the address may be ordered through the VTX 
  Audio/Visual Catalog.  To access this catalog, type VTX AVCATALOG at the 
  DCL ($) prompt.

      -------------------------------------------------------------

    Welcome and thank you for joining me.

    Today's presentation is another step in what will be a continuing 
    series with you, the employees of this company.  The need for us 
    to communicate with each other on a regular basis is greater than 
    ever.  For if this company is to return to the growth and success 
    that were the hallmarks of its first three and a half decades, we 
    are going to have to work together as a team, focused in the same 
    direction: on our customers.

    Last week, I spent three days meeting with our senior management 
    working on the direction that I will talk about today.  Some of you 
    have seen or heard from some early drafts of our work in progress.  
    That work is not yet complete -- there are many more decisions ahead 
    of us.  As soon as those decisions have been made, and the details 
    worked out, we will tell you. Employee communication is a key part 
    of what we are about.

    Tomorrow, October 1, I will meet with representatives of the 
    world press, financial analysts and industry analysts to talk 
    about the kind of performance they can expect from Digital, and 
    from me as a leader.  I want to deliver these messages to you 
    first.   I think it is important we communicate key messages 
    internally before they are communicated externally, whenever 
    possible.  We must work together as one company.
                                 
    Today, I will briefly cover a number of issues, including the 
    business environment; some of our short term and long term goals; 
    the role of our stakeholders in Digital's future; our 
    organizational directions; my leadership agenda; and the 
    expectations that I will have of myself, and of you.

    Digital is facing a much more competitive environment than it has 
    ever faced before.  Driven by open systems and by silicon 
    technology, a massive change has been sweeping through our industry.  
    The historically high margins and business models upon which 
    Digital was built are no longer sustainable.

    Computer hardware is becoming a commodity;  we expect software 
    will follow suit.  The silicon technology that put 125,000 
    transistors on a chip when I first joined Digital seven years ago 
    now puts 1.8 million transistors on our new Alpha chip.  And there 
    are no fundamental limitations on the horizon to the continuation 
    of that trend.

    As hardware performance skyrockets, the competitive process is 
    driving down prices and squeezing margins, requiring that we 
    lower our cost of doing business.  The business model needed in 
    this environment is one that I am very familiar with from my 
    experience in the semiconductor industry:  price reductions, cost 
    reductions, performance improvements at an astonishingly rapid 
    rate.  This is having an impact on the way we work and the way 
    we're organized.

    Industry changes are having an even greater impact on our
    customers.  And it is a paradoxical one.  In terms of hardware, 
    customers have never been as empowered to control the market as 
    they are today;  customers are in the driver's seat.  At the same 
    time, the rapidity of technical change and the difficulty of 
    integrating divergent systems has had an unsettling effect.  Some 
    customers are outsourcing -- delegating control of their computers 
    completely.  Others are seeking a greater level of advice, 
    support and partnership than ever before.

    The implications of supporting customers in both these situations 
    are the same:  

    THE CUSTOMER MUST BE THE CENTRAL, PRIMARY FOCUS OF EVERYTHING WE DO. 
    Digital's success has been built on our strengths in understanding 
    technology and our customers and how they work together:  only 
    Digital could have produced the VAX.  But we must build on and go 
    beyond these strengths, because for our future success, CUSTOMERS 
    AND THEIR SPECIFIC NEEDS, NOT TECHNOLOGY, must determine our 
    directions.

    And we must do it soon.  Time is running out.

    Our first task is to return to profitable growth quickly.  
    Winning the confidence and support of our shareholders, the 
    owners of this company, must be our first step.  If we don't have 
    that,  we'll have an increasingly difficult time moving forward.

    But profitable growth won't come without a transformation of this 
    company that aligns us with our customers.  We must organize and 
    focus ourselves in such a way that customers prefer to buy from 
    Digital -- prefer us because we not only have the best solutions 
    for customers, but because we stand behind them.

    There is an urgency to this effort.  Our customers, shareholders, 
    and partners will not give us a great deal of time before they 
    begin, however reluctantly, to turn elsewhere.  In the marketplace 
    delivering our advanced technology, products, and services ahead 
    of the competition is a key to our success.

    If we are to succeed, we must have timeliness in product 
    development, in customer responsiveness, in decision making, 
    and in action.

    The expectations of Digital are high.  Our shareholders and Wall 
    Street want stability and financial strength;  some are not sure 
    we're going to make it.  They are very interested in our 
    returning to profitability.  And this is understandable.  I 
    strongly believe that it is a privilege and responsibility to 
    invest other people's money wisely, and that shareholders get a 
    reasonable return on their investment.

    There is some good news here.  We have the strongest balance 
    sheet in the industry with $5 billion of equity and virtually no 
    debt.  Our debt to total-debt-plus-equity ratio was only 2% 
    compared to 17% and 43% for Hewlett-Packard and IBM at their 
    last reported positions.  Digital has always had and will 
    continue its commitment toward a conservative financial policy, 
    and both Moodys and Standard and Poor's ratings services have 
    recently recognized that publicly.

    Our strong financial position does not mean that we can avoid 
    reducing costs.  Quite the contrary.  Reducing unnecessary 
    expenses is vital not only for profitable growth, but for 
    survival.  And we are looking at every expense -- whether large
    or small -- weighing its necessity, evaluating its return, 
    examining and reexamining its importance.  We will be deliberate
    in our efforts to further reduce our costs.

    Customers have high expectations as well.  Our customers have 
    been loyal to us.  They believe in our technological capability, 
    the quality of our service and software, and most importantly, 
    our commitment to them.  They want us to succeed.

    So do our strategic partners.  It's implicit in the very term 
    'partner'.  Their success is tied to ours.  When WE succeed, they 
    succeed.  And because so many of them are solutions partners, or 
    distribution channels out to our customers, it is even more true 
    to say that when THEY succeed, we succeed.  We must continue to 
    remind ourselves of that.

    You are Digital's most important stakeholders, because meeting 
    the needs of all other stakeholders is dependent on your 
    commitment and actions.

    We will meet our stakeholders' needs in part through our 
    recommitment to Digital's core values and culture.  I feel very 
    strongly about Digital's values.  I believe that my value system 
    is 100% congruent with Digital's traditional core values, and
    that is one reason I am here today.

    Empowerment, entrepreneurship, our celebration of diversity, the 
    richness of humanity in our company across the globe, these 
    values have the power to unleash the ideas and imagination that 
    are potent competitive weapons.

    And being competitive is the bottom line.  The only thing we are 
    entitled to as a Company is the opportunity to compete for our 
    customers' business.  And we must structure ourselves to compete 
    effectively.

    In fact, we are currently engaged in a major restructuring 
    effort.  As part of this process, every step in our Supply Chain 
    is being examined, including:  product creation, manufacturing, 
    distribution, supplier management, sales, marketing, everything.

    And we are already finding more efficient and productive ways to 
    do things than we had ever thought possible.

    For example, in Manufacturing, we focused, invested and improved 
    our capabilities and quality.  At the same time, we disinvested 
    in the number of our facilities, downsized our populations, 
    and 'spun out' part of our operations.

    This was accomplished by examining the core competencies that we 
    needed to develop and grow to succeed in the '90s.  Based on our 
    findings, we created an investment profile that told us where we 
    needed to invest, where to disinvest, when to 'spin out' work, 
    and where to restructure and reengineer the work to eliminate 
    redundancies.

    For example, we have a core competency and commitment to 
    maintaining our lead in microprocessor design and manufacturing.  
    So we are investing in the creation of a new semiconductor 
    manufacturing plant in Hudson, Massachusetts.  On the other hand, 
    redundant efforts in process technology in an area that didn't 
    provide competitive differentiation allowed for the disinvestment 
    of our Greenville, South Carolina Printed Wiring Board facility.  
    The sale of that facility preserved peoples' jobs and reduced 
    costs while still maintaining our access to necessary 
    manufacturing capabilities and components.

    This is the process we are applying right now to every part of 
    Digital, including our worldwide workforce.  But we are not using 
    a 'top down', fixed number approach.  Working on a business by 
    business basis, in the context of our overall business goals, 
    managers are determining what sets of skills and knowledge and 
    what size work force they need to become more competitive.  We 
    are defining the resources for Digital's future.  These are 
    very important decisions, and we're moving carefully.  And while 
    we're not working with a fixed time limit, we recognize the 
    urgency of this process, and are moving as expeditiously as we can.

    We recognize that what is at stake is not only the future 
    survival of our Company, but your future loyalty, commitment, and 
    careers.  These are hard decisions, difficult ones, and we are 
    doing them in as caring and careful a manner as we possibly can.  
    But decisions must be made and work restructured.  That cannot stop.

    Financially, this process of restructuring has depressed earnings, 
    but it is also a necessary step in becoming competitive 
    and returning to profitable growth.  It will result in the:

     o	Simplification of our products, services, and business 
      	practices;
     o	Elimination of redundancies,
     o	Substantial cost reductions and increased productivity,
     o	Investment in areas that differentiate us and strengthen 
     	our core competencies, and
     o	Disinvestment in areas that don't.

    The criteria guiding today's decisions are simple...first, does 
    it help us more effectively meet customer needs; second, does it 
    make us more competitive as a company.
  
    Digital is therefore putting its emphasis on services, software, 
    networking and silicon.  And we will use the appropriate sales 
    and distribution channels to provide the products and services 
    our customers need.

    As the restructuring rolls out over the coming weeks and months,
    we will organize Digital according to the buying styles of our
    customers.  Some want excellent products, at low cost, with 
    fast delivery.  Some want excellent prodcuts, at low cost, with 
    fast delivery.  Some want more complex solutions to increase 
    their competitive advantage in their industries.  We know how
    to provide these solutions, which often require our networking,
    service and multivendor capabilities on a global basis.

    As our customers demand more, we are investing to deliver what
    they need.  For example, we are aggressively investing in systems 
    integration and consulting expertise.  Digital's SI business is 
    growing at more than 20% per year, and is profitable, exceeding 
    $2 billion dollars in revenue in our last fiscal year.  We will 
    continue to invest here, and in our multivendor service 
    capabilities.  We now service more than 10,000 hardware and
    hardware and software products from 1,300 different vendors. 
    And that number is growing.

    The resources to invest in high value added, higher profit 
    activities like systems integration, multivendor networking and 
    software integration will in part stem from the disinvestment in 
    other engineering efforts, particularly in hardware.  Digital's 
    $1.8 billion engineering investment is one of the largest in the 
    world.  We are committed to reengineering and refocusing even 
    that investment, re-allocating funds to support only the research 
    and development that promises an adequate level of return.

    To this end, we will shortly announce a vice president of 
    Engineering whose role will be to tie product strategy to our 
    strategic intent.

    We think there is opportunity for shifting our investments 
    through simplification and modularity.  Our practice of 
    empowering engineering groups to design their own unique 
    solutions for some segment of the marketplace has sometimes 
    resulted in overlap or redundancy.  This needs to be 
    eliminated, and our product set must be simplified.

    In addition, there are concepts called modular computing, and 
    flexible manufacturing, which will allow us to put subsystems 
    together in virtually unlimited combinations to solve customer 
    problems.  When implemented, we get a maximum number of 
    solutions, a minimum number of components, and obvious cost 
    benefits.  This approach, which we are already taking with 
    our new in-house manufactured PCs, is the wave of the future 
    at Digital.

    Our PCs also provide a model for our commitment to aggressively 
    match our sales and distribution channels to the way our 
    customers want to buy.  In a market as aggressive on pricing as 
    the PC market, we've turned to direct marketing, teleselling, 
    design-for-manufacture, and our own internal manufacturing to 
    create a business and sales model designed for sustainable profit. 
    With quality engineering, best-in-class manufacturing, low cost 
    worldwide distribution channels and service support, we will win 
    in this business.

    Inevitably, focusing on those core technologies which we do 
    exceptionally well means not focusing on some others.  We have to 
    accept the fact that we can no longer do everything everywhere 
    for everybody all the time.  We will need strategic partners, 
    like Microsoft and Olivetti; we will need to get closer to and 
    use our resellers and Original Equipment Manufacturers more 
    effectively; to recommit, and if necessary reinvest, in our 
    Complementary Solutions Organizations; in fact, work with and 
    support every conceivable channel that will help us be more 
    effective in delivering our products and services in a timely and 
    cost effective fashion.

    This new attitude is especially important as we roll out the next 
    major generation of computing, Alpha.  Alpha systems are 
    themselves the fruit of major investments in design tools, 
    simulation, tools verification, process development; technology 
    that has paid off.  Having a relatively small, one-company captive
    operation producing the world's fastest microprocessor and having 
    the circuits work the first time is an astounding feat.  I don't 
    know of any other semiconductor company that has been able to 
    accomplish that.

    Digital will continue to invest in semiconductor technology and 
    manufacturing as a core competency.  Having the industry's 
    'hottest' chip, of course, is only part of the job.  Having the 
    systems, software, service, networking, applications, and making 
    them easy to buy, sell and market, are vital as well.  We are 
    very aware of the interdependence of these elements...and we 
    will make our investments accordingly.

    To summarize, our product focus is to:  heavily invest in 
    services, software, networking and silicon; rationalize and 
    modularize our hardware offerings; provide the sales and 
    distribution mechanisms appropriate to the new business models 
    and the way our customers want to buy; lead the industry in 
    multivendor interoperability and integration; and keep the 
    focus at all times on delivering solutions to our customers.

    At this point I would like to more directly address the 
    underlying basis for my principles and actions:  my management 
    agenda and style, if you will.

    The number one item on our leadership agenda is the aggressive 
    transformation of the company to align itself with the changing 
    market and technology in order to meet our customer needs more 
    effectively.  A customer focus will drive all corporate and 
    supporting activities.  It is very clear to me that a successful 
    customer focus and a clear differentiation of our high quality 
    products and services will not happen without a renewed 
    dedication to excellence in marketing and sales.  Establishing 
    this excellence will be an integral part of Digital's 
    transformation.

    Success of this transformation, in my view, will also be 
    dependent upon building the strength and depth of Digital's 
    leadership team.  Good management must start with clear roles 
    and clear lines of accountability.  Unfortunately, while Digital's 
    matrix management structure has often served to empower managers 
    and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit, it has also frequently
    obscured role boundaries and responsibilities.

    This will change.  You will see clarity, discipline, accountability, 
    clear roles and responsibilities, and much more focus on teamwork 
    from Digital's leadership -- in other words, 'no excuses management'.  
    Our shareholders expect accountability from senior management; that 
    accountability begins with me.

    Managers will be expected to establish clear goals and be 
    accountable for results.  We'll also make sure that we can 
    identify who the real contributors are, and reward and recognize 
    those who are really carrying this enterprise.  Digital will 
    systematize its management development process for maximum 
    effectiveness.  We are all going to make mistakes as we implement 
    this process.  What is important is to openly admit our mistakes 
    and learn from them.

    Decision making will be driven by data.  Open and honest debate 
    will be encouraged, but we are either going to reach a consensus 
    or I will make a decision.  I think you'll see an increasing 
    'crispness' to Digital's decision making process, and an 
    increase in teamwork as well.

    Teamwork and honesty are the most important ingredients for our 
    success:  honesty with each other, with the facts necessary for 
    running a business, and integrity in meeting our commitments.

    Honesty, integrity, accountability, professionalism, these are 
    the values that each and every Digital employee, including me,
    must embrace.

    With our world class computer architects and scientists, sales 
    and service and support experts, marketers, managers and 
    entrepreneurs, with the help of all of you, we will shape the 
    future of Digital.  We will:

     o	Be customer focused, always;
     o	Develop new products to meet marketplace needs;
     o	Maintain price/performance leadership;
     o	Grow market share;
     o	Concentrate on businesses with growth and 
        profitability, like Systems Integration; and
     o	Make Digital more competitive worldwide;
     o	Maintain our competitive edge in products, software 
        networking, and multivendor services and support;
     o	Rely on Digital's considerable financial strength;
     o	Re-examine all aspects of Digital's environment;
     o	Simplify and streamline operations;
     o	Reduce the complexity of systems, procedures,  
        products;
     o	Downsize intelligently and with care;
     o	Empower all Digital employees worldwide; and
     o	Develop a competent management team; and finally,
     o	Recognize and build upon the tremendous heritage of 
        Digital's tradition.

    With these principles, the future looks bright.  We have the 
    talent, the technology, the financial resources, and the 
    commitment necessary for profitable growth and success in the 
    marketplace.

    Many years ago, I was a Digital customer.  It was a great 
    experience because I knew that the people at Digital would 
    stand behind its products, its solutions, its customers.  
    That commitment to our customers will continue.

    We are today, and will continue to be, one of the few top players 
    in our industry.  With focus and discipline and our capabilities, 
    we will work our way back to profitability.

    And beyond that, using your imagination and creativity, we will 
    bring success to our customers and leadership for ourselves in 
    the industry.

    Thank you. 

My favorite snippet:

>    entrepreneurs, with the help of all of you, we will shape the 
>    future of Digital.  We will:
                         ^^ ^^^^ 
	

>     o	Develop a competent management team; and finally,
	^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

	Finally some recognition of where some of the problems lie

My favorite paragraphs from the talk:

    Success of this transformation, in my view, will also be
    dependent upon building the strength and depth of Digital's
    leadership team.  Good management must start with clear roles
    and clear lines of accountability.  Unfortunately, while Digital's
    matrix management structure has often served to empower managers
    and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit, it has also frequently
    obscured role boundaries and responsibilities.

    This will change.  You will see clarity, discipline, accountability,
    clear roles and responsibilities, and much more focus on teamwork
    from Digital's leadership -- in other words, 'no excuses management'.
    Our shareholders expect accountability from senior management; that
    accountability begins with me.

    At the DVN at my site, a 1 page questionaire was passed out.  It asked
    questions along the lines of "Do you understand the need for changes in
    the way we do business?" and "Do you understand how we intend to make
    those changes?".  The answers, rather than being Yes/No were a sliding
    scale along the lines of
    
    Very well						Haven't a clue
        5	4    3    2    1    0    1    2    3    4	5
    
    A brief glance around the room indicated that the answers to the "Do
    you understand the need..." questions were all clustered around the 5
    part of the 'very well' end of the scale.  The answers to the "Do you
    understand how..." questions were also all clustered around the 5 part
    of the scale, unfortunately,  the 5 part at the opposite end of the
    scale.
    
    As far as the DVN itself, it seemed to be as content-free as the little
    10 minute Palmer one a month or so ago.  In fact, it seemed like the
    one a month or so ago could have been simply an edited-down version of
    the one today.
    
    Bob
    

        I expected at least a few words in tribute to Ken Olsen.

        Bob

    re: .4 Amen to that.
    
    Nice words. Not exactly *exciting* stuff, but I congratulate BP on
    saying that he will communicate messages to employees before the
    outside world where possible.
    
    Also, his line about making decisions by concensus or he'd make the
    decision himself cracked up the room where I saw the DVN.
    
    As in the past, fine words are welcome - let's hope that they translate
    to something more....
    
    Good luck, BP, we need it.
    
    /andy

    
    I noticed the following when Bob was speaking and went looking for it
    in .0. Here it is:
    
    "only Digital could have produced the VAX."
    
    I'm really glad to see Bob isn't spending his time worrying about
    'correct' use of trademarks like so many people seem to be doing
    lately. Always did think this sort of thing was worrying about exactly
    how to arrange the deckchairs on the titantic. Now that Bob's decided
    that VAX is a noun it's OK for us all to use it that way too.
    
    Regarding the actual speech itself. As far as it went I thought it was
    great. There was nothing said that I thought didn't make sense or
    seemed wrong minded. But as others have pointed out the proof will be
    in the pudding. If he ACTUALLY DOES what his pronouncements imply then
    I think Digital will be very successful again. But if his speech is
    proved to be nothing but hot air and good intentions then as our dear
    departed Dick Lennard was fond of saying "the death spiral will
    continue".
    
    When I see people actually being held accountable for things then I'll
    look up. When I see Digital actually focus then I'll look even further
    up. When I see the people responsible for the last 5 years
    directionless drunken wandering being held responsible then I'll clap.
    
    I too was VERY impressed that he made a point of saying that
    communications would be to employees before the press where possible.
    Today's broadcast was an example of that.
    
    I'll try and do my bit, I hope a vision and a direction gets rammed
    into upper and middle management.
    
    Finally any guesses as to who he is going to name as VP of engineering.
    He talked of one engineering organization but it seemed unclear as to
    whether that was hardware/software combined. I know that Stone will be
    VP of Software Engineering. Is that who he was referring to or will
    there be a VP that Stone reports to? I also wondered if he was
    referring to Strecker possibly.
    
    Dave

    I, as many of you have been reading the variety of articles in the press
    and in various conferences regarding Digital and our FUTURE and how Bob
    Palmer will save us.  I believe that Bob Palmer has the skills and
    tenacity to help direct Digital forward.  I do have a concern, it appears 
    to me that many people are depending on Bob Palmer to do it versus US 
    to do it with Bob.  It appears to me Bob is willing to look at all aspects 
    of the company and all processes and determine what changes need to 
    be made, and as he stated if all else fails he will make decisions.  
    However he is only one person.  We all have a obligation to
    raise issues based on facts, give zero credenace to rumors, do our jobs
    to the best of our ability and correctly the first time, become CUSTOMER 
    ORIENTED from the secretary to the top, return phone calls promptly, be 
    ontime for meetings, help win against the competition, help fix customer 
    problems and stop passing the buck.  Each and every employee can make a 
    positive impact on the future of Digital. Work together create a WIN WIN 
    attitude across functions and groups by working together so that we may 
    all benefit from a more prosperous Digital.  If as individuals we do not 
    want to raise our own level of risk and performance, then we become 
    anchors which are no longer welcomed.
    
    Jim 
                         

    
    RE: .4
    
    "        I expected at least a few words in tribute to Ken Olsen."
    
    
    He did that already in his first DVN after Ken's resignation
    announcement. I don't think it is inappropriate to omit Ken now. 
    Ken's gone. Let's get on with it. 
    
    

  Maybe BP will bring back Gordon Bell to be VP of Engineering?

  :-)

    For Europhiles wishing to receive a VHS PAL copy of the 30th Sept.
    " Bob Palmer DVN broadcast to employees", please write to:
     Susan Van Gemert @JGO, stating your postal address & cost centre.
    
    				Nick Meyer, DVN Ops Geneva.

    Or ask your local DEC library....

    Well seeing as we're guessing in regard to the next Engineering VP,
    I'll throw out the name of Jesse Lipcon.
    
    					Steve

    	Well, it wouldn't surprise me to see Strecker as VP of Engineering
    with Stone and Demmer responsible for software and hardware engineering
    respectively, reporting to Strecker. The only question would be where
    the OS groups go.

    If senior management is serious then they should hire someone with
    software experience.  While I doubt that this will happen it would
    certainly support all those fancy statements about DEC being a software
    company.  (Maybe they could use significant chunks of cash to make
    Dave Cutler an offer he couldn't refuse!!! :-)  :-)  )
    Ric

    BP spent one, count 'em, one single line to address how the reorg and
    layoffs are effecting us.  One line!
    
    Marv
    

       Wonder why BP couldn't do the address live and actually answer
    employee questions?
                                     Denny

    .14

    >Maybe they could use significant chunks of cash to make
    >Dave Cutler an offer he couldn't refuse!!! :-)  :-)  )

    i dont know Dave Cutler, but from what i heard about him from people
    who knew him, is that he screams at people when he gets mad at them,
    i dont really like to work for some one who keeps screaming at you,
    i tried it before and i did not like it.

    /nasser

I agree with Nasser. If we're striking out as a "New DEC", the last thing
we need is some of the "old timers" back as VP's. Cutler "doesn't fit"
what we're up to. Neither does Gord.

-Jack

    re: .17 If you don't know him, why are you putting hear-say about him
    into this note? 

    re .19
    
      What is this, a court of law?  Hear-say, opinion and rumor are the
    mother's milk of this file.  If you'd restrict noters to only posting
    facts this file would close in a day.
    
      Take it easy.  I'm beginning to wonder if he's a relative or yours.
    
    :-)
    
    Marv
    

    Random free-association, anent BP's vision of the future...
    
    "Need a New Deal?  Cut the DEC first."
    
    �:-}
    

    
    Geez, I though Palmer said: 
    
    
    "Need a New DEC? Cut the cr*p first. "

    Funny, with a few (very few) Digital specific comments (i.e. the VAX)
    I feel you could have substitute any major corporations name in place
    of Digital and the speach could have been presented to another company.
    
    Personally... it left me cold.  Granted we shouldn't expect the guy to
    speak in the language of the heavens.... but ..... it just seemed to be
    the same old stuff.  Maybe I'm jaded from all the times in the past
    where "management" was supposed to be responsible and never seemd to
    be.  Maybe I was hoping for some marginally definitive thoughts on
    cuts, etc.....   
    
    Lorelei
    
    

    re .23
    
    Yes, that's all there is ...  for now!  Like somebody once said,
    "Don't watch what we say, Listen to what we do!!" or, ah, ...
    
    Seriously, there is nothing anyone can say that will convince a
    skeptic.  The politicos can use the same language any good manager
    would use.   Only actions speak when everyone knows the rhetoric.
    
    Time will tell.
    
    Dick

    re .9 Maby Bob Palmer will fire all the VP's. Save a heck of a lot of
    money.

    re.24, I agree.  Actions do speak louder than words, and from what I
    hear, I am glad that I own 200 shares of DEC stock right now.
    
    It is time to trim the fat, eliminate redundancies, and terminate
    employees that are no longer needed.  Business is business.  Sure, you
    got to get rid of some vp's, and you have to get rid of the dead
    weight, that means some front line people to.  I am looking forward
    to the future, and feel that DEC is going to come out of this.  I like
    Bob Palmer.  Never met the guy, but from what I hear, he doesn't blow
    smoke, he starts the fire.
    
    I would like to see DEC back to profitability by 30-Jun-93.  I will do
    whatever it takes on my part, and hopefully everyone else will do the 
    same.  A management team is only as good as the people they support.
    
    Bob
    

    I sincerely hope we're profitable by 1-Jan-93.
    
    Mark.

           
           VP of Engineering?  Larry Walker was in BP's organization.
                      

    With the stock down about 6% from the open, it looks like Wall Street
    was not impressed with Palmer's content-free presentation.  Looks like
    the street was expecting news that the upper management birdcage had a
    rock tied to it and was being thrown into the deep end of the pool.
    What they saw was the same old birdcage with the same number of birds
    on the same perches.

    
    re. 28
    
    Larry Walker already is a V.P., in watching his talk with the Press
    today he said the new V.P. would be announced within 2 weeks, but
    this person was in-house and knew both hardware & software.

    re Gord
    
    I think you probably mean Roger Gourd.
    Re Cutler. In a sense by having a significant investment in Microsoft we
    _have_ brought Dave Cutler back to Digital. (and maybe he might even
    feel that by investing in Microsoft Dec "acknowledges that he was
    right"?).

re: .31, Herb

>    re Gord
>    
>    I think you probably mean Roger Gourd.

No - I think I probably meant Gord-on Bell, as referenced in the book of
Exodus for Commercial Engineering, circa 1981.

Whether Cutler was/is "right" or not has very little to do with whether or not
he could be an effective DIGITAL VP of Engineering at this juncture. My opinion
is that he could not. We need leadership, not egos.

-Jack

    I must admit a little bemusement to one or more of the previous
    suggestions......
    
    Leaving out names, was it seriously suggested we should have:
    
    		VP, Engineering
    			|
    		----------------------
    		|		     |
    	VP, Software		VP, Hardware
    
    ???
    
    Doesn't seem to measure up to a lean, mean, flat, responsive
    organisation.
    
    Or am I missing something?
    
    JohnK
    

    As I understand it, the picture would be more like
    
                  -----------------------------------------------
                  |                       |                     |
    	VP, Engineering function    VP, H/W business   VP, S/W business

    
    My understanding is that the yet to be named VP would be for
    Engineering. Period.  That would include H/W and S/W.  Lean
    and mean, notwithstanding, a much bigger problem for years
    has been the lack of one person who could force proper planning,
    cooperation, and coordination between H/W and S/W.
    
    Steve
    

    
    
    	re .34
    
    	Is it my mistake or did you lose a few days there?

    We have always SAID we were customer focused. But we think our
    customers are CSOs or other none users. This presentation just
    reinforced that we will not change our current strategy of reliance on
    other companies to add value to our products. There has been no
    recognition of the horrendous damage done to us by our "partners". 
    
    Who is our customer Mr. Palmer ?
    
    What is valuable to our customer ?
    
    Adding VPs or organization structure change is not what we need. I
    recently tried to buy a PC from DEC. There is nothing easy or customer
    oriented about dealing with DEC.
    
    peter 

    >Digital is therefore putting its emphasis on services, software, 
    >networking and silicon.  
    
    Do you think Digital can and will sell silicon, services, software and 
    networking solutions without (or instead of) developing and selling its own 
    terminals, printers, computers and other systems and peripherals?  My
    understanding is that it can and that this sets precedence for where
    redundance may occur.  
    
    Steve

    	I think we need to keep in mind that BP is rather new at this and
    that this was his first major address to all employees. If it were me,
    I would have taped and analyzed it, making sure it came out just right.
    I wouldn't have taken live employee questions either. Save that stuff
    for later.
    	He had to be very careful what he said and how he said it. If he
    started talking about hacking away at the company, the stock would have
    dropped like a rock...OK..a bigger rock than usual. I don't think we
    could expect to much from these early speeches. The best he could hope
    for is to get people familiar with him and his management style,
    provide some vague direction, and attempt to instill confidence (warm
    and fuzzies). I think he accomplished that.
    	And it really doesn't matter much WHAT he says anyway. We've been
    hearing a lot of that stuff for years. We want to see actions to back
    up the statements.

    re a few back
    
    We need certain independence between HW and SW engineering to produce
    SW for an independent SW business and HW for an independent HW
    business.

    
    Re: .40
    
    > We need certain independence between HW and SW engineering to produce
    > SW for an independent SW business and HW for an independent HW
    > business.
    
    Is your point that a single VP of Engineering over HW and SW is a bad
    idea, because it would prevent independence of the two where their
    separate businesses would require it?
    
    If so, I disagree that that would be a given.
    
    Steve
    

    You don't judge an artist by his first few strokes on the canvas, you
    wait until his portrait is complete.  Please do the same with Mr.
    Palmer.  Don't start analyzing and disecting his first speech and
    interpret it to something he didn't say etc.  Let's wait and see what
    happens in the next few months.  I am sure that in the near future
    there will be more clear direct comments from him to discuss over.
    
    Rome was not built in a day, and DEC will not be turned around in a 
    day.
    
    As stated before, words are only valuable if backed up with actions.
    Let's see what actions this company takes.
    
    Bob
    

    re .33 "am I missing somthing"
      
        No, see .25
    

Worldwide News                      LIVE WIRE                   02-Oct-92

              President Bob Palmer answers reporters' questions
                   on direction, reductions and management

  Facing more than 100 reporters, financial and industry analysts, President 
  Bob Palmer outlined Digital's short and long term direction, dealing with 
  subjects ranging from management to workforce reductions.

  Yesterday's conference, held in Maynard, included satellite links with 
  London, Paris, Mt. View, California; Stockholm and Caracas, Venezuela; 
  location of Digital's newest subsidiary.

  In his prepared remarks, Bob reinforced the same messages he gave to 
  employees in a taped DVN broadcast transmitted on Wednesday.  A transcript 
  of the DVN is available on LIVE WIRE.

  The following are excerpts of Bob's answers to key questions posed at the 
  press conference.

  Digital's Direction:
    
  We need to understand where computing is going.  We need a clear vision and 
  articulation for our company of what we believe the future of computing is 
  and that our strategy aligns in that direction.  We don't have that today. 
  It's my responsibility, and my management team's, to insure that there is a 
  process in place to share that vision with our customers and employees.

  No Excuses Management:

  At this level of management, at least, shareholders do not expect to hear 
  excuses... What management should deliver at my level, and at the level of 
  those people who report to me, are results not excuses.

  Of course, mistakes will be made. I make plenty of mistakes... That is sort 
  of inherent in being willing to take and make a decision.  Sometimes, your 
  decision will not be correct.  So what.  You need to learn from those 
  decisions and move on.  Most of those decisions are correctable... We don't 
  want an environment that discourages risk-taking.

  Cost Reductions and Restructuring:

  Cost-cutting is global... We need to be competitive in every market.

  We don't start out with a fixed number... We benchmark ourselves against our
  competitors... We prefer a bottoms-up approach that allows us to see what we
  need to do to be competitive in a business unit.

  Restructuring will continue for the next couple of years but will be done in
  a caring and deliberate fashion... Following the announcement of our Q1 
  results, we will inform you as to how many employees have left... My 
  forecast says, the rate of departure of employees from this enterprise will 
  increase and increase significantly.  We have to get costs down quickly... I 
  do not believe additional restructuring charges will be needed to get 
  our company to a competitive posture.

  Excellence:

  I see no appeal in striving to be mediocre.  We must strive to be the best.

  Management and Organizational Changes:

  There will be changes in the upper levels... I plan on bringing in individuals
  from the outside with additional skills and talents... Some of our senior 
  managers will find more attractive opportunities in the business units, 
  perhaps not.

    CNN Headline news has been running a piece today about this press 
    conference and Digital. I keep missing the beginning of it, but one 
    thing CNN reports is a statement about a reduction of 15,000 by June.
    
    Dave

    Does anybody know what kind of operation takes place in Caracas?
    Live Wire mentioned it was our newest subsidiary.  They must be
    significant to have a satellite drop for DVN.  I thought Venezuela
    was just parts distribution.
    

    Re:        <<< Note 2139.46 by MIMS::PARISE_M "Southern, but no comfort" >>>

    (This is somewhat off the real topic, but what the heck)
    
    In  the past Digital has usually  started  selling  in  a  developing
    country by signing a local distributor.   If  the  situation  warrant
    then we either buy the operation or sign  some  agreement  where  the
    business is transferred or the market segmented.  In any case, we did
    openned a new subsidiary in Venezuela and for new Digits  I guess was
    worth the cost of the satellite drop.
    
    The above is from my experience while working in GIA, things may have
    changed.
    
    /OLD