Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.
David PackardRead
A company has a greater responsibility than making money for its stockholders. We have a responsibility to our employees to recognize their dignity as human beings.
Interpretation
A company should prioritize the well-being of its employees alongside profits.
David Packard emphasizes the idea that corporations have a moral obligation that extends beyond merely generating profit for shareholders. This responsibility entails recognizing and respecting the dignity and humanity of employees, suggesting that a companyβs success should be measured not only in financial terms but also by the ethical treatment of its workforce.
In practice
During a company meeting to discuss corporate values and ethics.
Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.
Treat your customers like they own you. Because they do.
The lesson for businesses is you are dealing with real people. Those are your customers, those are your employees, those are your bosses, and the better you understand how real people tick, the more successfully you will be able to accomplish your goals.
As a multisport athlete, I was always fascinated with competition and how to win. At HBS and later at the Harvard Department of Economics, I was drawn to the field of competition and strategy because it tackles perhaps the most basic question in both business management and industrial economics: What determines corporate performance?
Hierarchy is an organization with its face toward the CEO and its ass toward the customer.
Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs.
Owning a popular sports team is very different than any other type of business. They don't throw parades when Apple has the biggest quarter in corporate history. People don't call and email asking for anyone from the team to come visit their sick child. They don't cry as they request a jersey of their child's favorite player to be buried with them.
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