In the latest installment of The Heritage of Innovation podcast series, I had the opportunity to sit down with Chuck House. He is an inventor, innovator, leader, mentor, and much more. During his 28 years at HP, Chuck was part of 11 divisions across a wide range of products and technologies. He received the Award of Defiance from Dave Packard for going above and beyond in his pursuit of one of his projects, a large computer screen that sold 30,000 units instead of the forecasted 30. His development of early display technology ultimately resulted in the moon monitor – allowing NASA and the rest of the world watch Neil Armstrong take one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind.
Today, I'd like to share a few highlights from the interview.
A major contribution from HP beyond bleeding edge technology is the innovative culture. Chuck joined the company back in 1962 as the 98th engineer. With just 23 years in, the company was still forming its culture and setting its values.
“The thing about early on was that Bill and Dave were deeply involved in every project. Deeply in the sense that they reviewed every project in the company every year. And there is something magical about that, especially in Bill’s case, as technical as he was. You would essentially get what I’d describe a master’s or doctorate oral exam annually on your stuff. The questions were like, what contributions does this make? Why is it ahead? What’s the next step after this? What’s the science underneath it? The view was that this was instrumentation science – you can’t go to any school in the country and learn this. You can learn how to be EE, biology, astronomy, but nowhere can you learn instrumentation, and that’s what we’re about. You had to be part of a team, and the team has to understand all the science around it. Not just how to build it, but how to apply it, and who the people you are building it for.”
As an executive director of Media X, Stanford University’s Industry Affiliate research program on media and technology, Chuck has been educating many young minds to become future thought leaders. For fellow inventors and people who want to change the world, he offers this advice:
“I believe in experiments … little experiments, lots of experiments. Learning by doing. You’ve to get your hands dirty and you’ve got to mix it up. There’s kind of a dual end here. If you’re not grounded in math and science, you’re handicapped. What you’re learning isn’t formulas; it’s a way of thinking. It’s a cause and effect of relationships that work. That ordered, structured way of thinking is crucial to work through to a solution. The curiosity and the drive is essential to creative side, but unless you can take that and harness it and get it in a resultant way, you’ll be handicapped. I urge [students to focus on] math and science, and much more on statistics and data visualization. You want to know what calculus and algebra can do for you, but it’s more important to think visually and spatially. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you wish you had done something, do it.”
For more stories from Chuck House about HP and his experiences, you can listen to the whole interview here. Or, read some of his thoughts at his blog here.
Be sure to stay tuned for more great interviews in the future.
Link to audio/podcast
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