Great story about Ken giving up his seat ! In the time I was with DEC I
didn't hear a bad word about him, also the bloke that headed up the
Australian organization in the early years (Max Burnett) was very similar.
He wasn't ruthless either and was replaced as CEO but stayed with the
company until the end.
...Wayne
> -----Original Message-----
> From: olympus <olympus-
> bounces+wayne.harridge=structuregraphs.com@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
> Behalf Of Wayne Shumaker
> Sent: Saturday, 3 October 2020 11:36 PM
> To: Olympus Camera Discussion <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [OM] Whither Olympus: The Oracle speaks
>
> I remember Wayne, another Decie on this list. I started in the
semiconductor
> group in 1983. I really enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of all the
people
> there. It was fun the level of creativity allowed.
>
> My wife, before I knew her, met Ken Olsen on a plane flight once. She was
> pregnant, (her first marriage) and very uncomfortable. Ken gave up his
first
> class seat to her. Later, he sent her a fruit basket at the resort they
went to.
> Perhaps if he was a more ruthless person, DEC might still exist. On the
other
> hand, his great character, he and Gordon Bell, attracted some great
talent. It
> was the political infighting below them that became the problem.
>
> I can only imagine all the internal dynamics that may have been, is,
> happening at Olympus.
>
> Dec had a lot of good intellectual assets. So does Olympus. It may now be
in
> the process of repackaging that to make it re-sellable??
>
> But innovation never sits still, it is (as the oracle would say) always
changing.
> If there is resistance to change, a company can become a bit stiff.
>
> I'm wonder if Nikon will follow?
>
> WayneS
>
>
>
> At 10/3/2020 04:44 AM, Wayne H wrote:
> >I had the privilege of working for DEC in Oz from 1989 to 1999 (?) then
> >as COMPAQ until 2000 when they were reducing staff to make for an
> >attractive
> >(?) sale to HP. DEC was the best organisation I ever worked for , I
> >still have close contact with some of the old DEC crew from MEO today !
> >I'm pleased that I left COMPAQ in 2000 as I knew that what ever
> >followed at HP would never be like the old DEC. The best thing about
> >the company from my perspective was the fantastic support given to
> >employees by the management and colleagues, if you needed anything for
> >a project it was there to make the project succeed. An incredible
> >network of people worldwide who were committed to helping solve any
> >kind of problem for a customer through consultants like me, no
> >questions asked, no favours expected. Anyhow, 20 years since I left
> >I'm still working with OpenVMS, so many systems still around that refuse
to
> die !
> >
> >...Wayne
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: olympus <olympus-
> >> bounces+wayne.harridge=structuregraphs.com@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
> >> Behalf Of Wayne Shumaker
> >> Sent: Saturday, 3 October 2020 12:39 AM
> >> To: Olympus Camera Discussion <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Subject: Re: [OM] Whither Olympus: The Oracle speaks
> >>
> >> I often wonder how much of a company (country?) ends up based on the
> >> leaders at the top. You can have brilliant technical people, but
> >> matters
> >little if
> >> managed wrong.
> >>
> >> It will be interesting to see how Oly evolves. (or declines)
> >>
> >> Digital Equipment corp, when run by Ken Olsen and Gordon Bell, was
> >> very good at new innovation. But the internal divisions started
> >> competing with each other. Disk drives were only profitable when
> >> coupled with expensive mini-computers. The semiconductor group
> making
> >> a uVax was at odds with the more main frame style mini-computer
> >> division. Then they replaced Ken with hatchet man Bob Palmer and broke
> up the company.
> >>
> >> Vax VMS (increment the letters) became Microsoft WNT (Windows NT)
> >> uVax became part of Intel. Other pieces ...Compaq, Quantum , Oracle,
...
> >>
> >> And so it goes. Even great countries and civilizations change and
> >> decline, often when they become overly self-important or
> >> self-confident. The Buddhist understanding of impermanence. Wisdom is
> >> hard to find. Karma is cause and effect in action. People resist
change.
> However...
> >>
> >> The I Ching Oracle speaks: Change is inevitable.
> >>
> >> So my advice: Delight in GAS while you can.
> >>
> >> Riding the wave for now - WayneS
> >> --
> >>
> __________________________________________________________
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> >> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
> >
> >--
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> ________
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> --
> __________________________________________________________
> _______
> Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
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> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
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