quote:

As with most of you, our time with Dr. Bose was extremely inspirational to me. I was wishing for a pad and pencil so I could jot down the many 'pearls of wisdom' he passed our way. Some of you have already shared, but I would like to ask each of you to post the one comment during his talk that stood out in your mind. I plan to share these with my sales team in the near future, as I believe they are applicable to any organization.

After I got home, I wrote down some of the things that stuck with me from Dr. Bose's talk. This was several hours later, so they're subject to the flaws of my memory, but these things stood out:

1: Don't do something unless you deeply believe in it. Tell the truth, because lying will consume you. (This fits in with one of my favorite Mark Twain quotes - "Always tell the truth; then you don't have to remember anything".

2. Dr. Bose made two decisions early on - that the company would be privately held, and that there would be no mandatory retirement age. These decisions (especially the first) have allowed Bose to have product development cycles, some of them amazingly long, keyed to getting the product right and not just to releasing something in time to have an impact on the next quarterly report. Focusing on the product first and the revenue it generates second changes the way a company approaches everything from its products to its employees to its customers. (Another favorite quote, from Douglas Adams: "This planet has … a problem, which was this: Most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.")

3. Don't compete with other company's products. You waste your time comparing your product to someone else's. Try to make the best product you can, not just one that's better than your competitor's.

4. Put yourself in the place of others. This one has already been discussed extensively.

5. In the end, it's perception that matters, no matter how you get there. For a company that makes tools for artists, this is an incredibly important thing to remember.


After the conference when we were all standing around talking to Dr. Bose, I asked him if he had ever thought about writing a book about his business philosophy and practices. His approach is so different from most American companies and from what is being taught in business schools, and it clearly works. I checked the case library at Harvard Business School, where I used to work. There's only one case on Bose, and it concerns just-in-time inventory - not exactly central to the way the company runs. Dr. Bose's business ideas should be available for others to learn from. The world could use more companies that are run like Bose.


One question - Dr. Bose's presentation, or at least most of it, was videotaped. It looked like a pretty professional job - two cameras, two operators. Is there any chance that can be edited down and made available to the people who were there, at least?

There were so many deep philosophical and humanitarian comments from Dr. Bose that rang very true with me, but I must say that the ONE comment that stands out most to me does so because of it's childlike innocence and simplicity.

When asked by an audience member why, after years and years of hard work to establish Bose as a premier audio company, what was it that made him decide to pursue something so seemingly unrelated as the improvement of auto suspension systems?

His simple answer was immediate and beautifully honest.


"Curiosity."

Dr. Bose's various developments have all come about, it seems to me, from his early experiences, with music and cars. He has a passion for both, and I recall producing one of the very first digital sessions ever done, using several Sony Betamax decks, and it was a "demo" tape for the Delco-Bose sound systems that were going into Cadillacs, I believe. His work on suspension systems is a natural outgrowth, but the real kicker for me is the fact that he is utilizing the little square-wave power amp he invented so many years ago. I have found that most of us develop our lifelong pursuits and loves by the time we're in our very early twenties, and spend the rest of our lives pursuing the elusive ideals of that time. The hardest thing of all is to continue to grow in that pursuit, and not settle into a routine that allows one to rest on one's laurels, as it were. Dr. Bose is a restless dreamer, making his dreams real for our benefit. Cliff Hendrickson is another kindred soul in that mold, and just about everybody who has had a hand in the L1 shares that DNA. That's what it takes, it seems.

I'm still dazed and amazed...thanks for all the great posts.

Dan

Hello to all!
Well, I'm still not even home yet, as duty called to move my company's offices in Winnipeg - snow and all. So here I am one week later reading posts finally after getting just a few short moments to myself.
I want to thank everyone at Bose on a surface level for hosting such an impactful conference in a stylish and professional manner. On a much deeper, and more important level though, I want to share that attending this event has had a profound impact on me. My involvement in the Pharmaceutical industry over the last 5 years has made me witness to some dark and dispicable corporate practises. I was beginning to lose faith in how big business conducts itself as a corporate citizen. After listening to Dr. Bose speak, it is as though I have come home to a place populated by kindred spirits. I even told Dr. Bose after his lecture that a person will experience events that truly change their path in life - be it a book, a speech, or a person. Often, this occurs to a person without their even knowing something incredible has occurred until some years later. Well, I do know that I experienced one of those moments, and it has renewed my belief that things CAN be done in a manner of absolute integrity, honesty and humanity.
On another level, my time connecting again with my brother - be it in conversation or jamming - was more valuable than any of you can imagine. Thank you all for being the catalyst.
I will have more to say as time permits, but I'll leave some room for others.
Health and happiness to all.

I've loved reading all your posts on the fall conference. Your recollections of Dr. Bose's remarks are exactly what I was looking for. I, too, loved his childlike response of "Curiosity!" when asked why he pursued development of a better automotive suspension system. It was priceless!

Keith...I have a great pic of you and Murray. I will be posting the album in the near future. You guys were great!

In fact....I have some great pix of everyone...except ST of course...

Karen...If you are in OC this week, give me a call. I'm free this weekend and would love to meet you somewhere in the southland.

Rick Jordan.... I'm still waiting to sing Blue Moon with you!

Guy...you do a GREAT Bob Dylan!

Dean....Sorry you missed it...it was wonderful!!!

More later......d

Hello Diedra,

If possible, could you send me your pix on a CD? I'm collecting as many as I can. I'm a big archiver.

Love,

Ken

p.s. Give Ken a BIG HUG from me.

Ken, you're more of a regular-sized archiver...

--Chuck

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ken-at-Bose:
Hello Diedra,

If possible, could you send me your pix on a CD? I'm collecting as many as I can. I'm a big archiver.


Hi Ken....I'd be happy to....To where should I send it? Would you like it in photo files or on a Powerpoint slideshow? If anyone else would like a copy...please let me know, and send your addresses in a private post if you'd prefer.

Love...d

PS...I'll be happy to pass on your hug to Ken. BTW...I call him KJ, and had to refrain from doing it in Boston...because that is also YOU!...lolol

Hi Deidra,

I'll send you a PM with my address here. Please just send the photo files.

Thanks!

If anyone is interested in weeding thru a couple hundred pictures,
Here is a Zip file of the more Bose related pictures from my East Coast vacation.
Other unrelated pics from Salem, Plymouth, and various small towns are zipped up Here. <--(broken link repaired 11/27)


P

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Drumr,

Today, I was skimming thru posts - and trying to remember faces....

and thinking

1) I wish I had shut up and listend more in our free time.
2) I wish some of you guys lived/worked closer to me.
3) I wish I had taken a vid cam and gotten candid conversations to look at later.
4) I hope in a year or so, I'm in a position to attend another.

Michael,

Sometimes I feel the same way. Don't beat yourself up too much though. We're all just a phone call/email away.

Tom

Remember where you were last Halloween?

Oh yes I do!

K.

How could I not? Along with playing sets with Peter Rowan on Labor Day weekend, that evening jam was one of my two peak musical experiences of the past year. It was like Christmas coming twice a year... and both on holidays, too!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rich Stillman,

Well, here we are in Jan of 2008, and I'm STILL telling friends and players about my field-trip to the East Coast L1 Party.

Next week I'll be showing off my L1 to our new "Worship Tech" leader at my church. He'll have some input in what we will use for sound in the new building project... I'm crossing my fingers AND praying ! <G>

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Michael Nunley,