Tandem Computers Unplugged
A People’s History
Gaye I. Clemson
Copyright © 2012 Gaye I Clemson
The challenge with oral history, especially when using social media is that the scope is limited by the nature of the kinds of stories that individuals are willing to post. As a result, though lots of people and events are included, lots of others that didn’t quite fit the story line have been omitted, but not through any malicious intent. I have also found, that the human memory is a funny thing, so I don’t pretend that every story is absolutely true. No doubt some embellishment has gone on. There may also be some stories that in today’s vernacular might be considered not very politically correct. Apologies are extended in advance for any sensibilities, political, ethnic or otherwise, that get bruised. I also excluded my own and others’ more ‘juicy bits’ to both protect the innocent but also because my sense is that these stories are much more suited to a fictional format. As I’ve often said, you just had to be there to get it all.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher.
Cover photograph was provided courtesy of Yves Tournier, a formere employee from the Tandem France subsidiary. Cover postcard inserts were provided courtesy of Jan Seamons, Jim Katzman and Dennis McEvoy respectively. Cover by Troy Chasey of Capitola Design.
The Publisher makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages.
2012-07-02
Dedication
To all fellow Tandemites who at one time or another proudly wore a Tandem NonStop badge.
Notes and Acknowledgements
In 1974, when Jimmy Treybig started Tandem at the age of 33, most pundits thought that building a new computer company was not a very good idea. But Jimmy persisted because he knew that the business problem he was trying to solve was one that was causing real pain at that time for businesses such as banks, telecommunications providers and airlines. But it wasn’t just a new computer systems architecture that he cared about, it was also about creating a new way to manage people and lead a company. The values that he set out—for example that all people were good and the same whether they were workers or management, that every single person in the company needed to understand the essence of the business and that every employee needed to benefit from the company’s success were groundbreaking. Management’s job, Jimmy felt, was to create an environment where all of this could happen, which is what took place at Tandem Computers.
Like all things in life, some aspects of these ideas worked well and others didn’t work quite so well. But as is so clear in listening to the voices of Tandem people that are found in this narrative, the impact on those who spent time at Tandem was and is significant. All of us are proud to have been a part of that legacy. We are proud of the fact that we helped lay the foundation for what has become Silicon Valley, proud of the individual contributions that we made, proud of the fun and success that we had as a group, proud of Beer Busts, TOPS, sabbaticals, TTN, email and stock options for everyone. We are proud of the trust that we all had in each other that led to an openness of thought, creativity, innovation and customer commitment that is rare today. We had a spirit and a feeling that lives on and I hope comes through in these pages.
This book is written in a way that reflects three different narratives. The first narrative is the history of the company that has been extracted from a mountain of press clippings and articles in various Tandem internal publications. A second narrative is my own voyage of discovery of Silicon Valley, a new management approach and more importantly of the world. Thirdly are the voices of my fellow employees, extracted from social media postings over the last decade and interwoven in different ways to tie it all together.
I started collecting these voices from social media postings by former employees of Tandem Computers in 2002 just after a reunion that was held at Bay Meadows race track in September of that year. Over the course of this journey not only did I have a chance to reconnect with all sorts of Tandem friends and former colleagues, I also had a chance to virtually meet many I had never known personally. Like my other oral history projects, it soon took on a life of its own and in the intervening years has taken me down many different and very interesting pathways.
But the challenge with this style of writing is that the scope is limited by the nature of the kinds of stories that individuals were willing to post. As a result, though lots of people and events are included, lots of others that didn’t quite fit the story line have been omitted, but not through any malicious intent. I’ve also learned in writing many of these types of histories that the human memory is a funny thing, so I don’t pretend that every story is absolutely true. No doubt some embellishment has gone on. There may also be some stories that in today’s vernacular might be considered not very politically correct. I apologize in advance for any sensibilities, political, ethnic or otherwise, that get bruised. I also excluded my own and others’ more “juicy bits” to both protect the innocent but also because, my sense is that those stories are much more suited to a fictional format. As I’ve often said you just had to be there to get it all.
Wherever I have been able, I’ve included employee numbers. Of course all Tandemites will know exactly why this is. But for those readers unfamiliar, the Tandem employee number (appearing on one’s security badge) reflected the order in which one got hired. The smaller the number, the higher the person ranked in the Tandem family hierarchy. With that higher ranking came respect, honor and the deference of others—not quite a seniority system and certainly outside of the normal organizational power structure, but very important all the same. My number was #6410 as I joined the firm in 1984, 10 years after its founding. The company, at nearly $500 million in annual revenue, had just joined the ranks of the Fortune 500. When I left in mid-1992, revenue was close to $1.5 billion. This time period was perhaps not quite as exciting as the first few years after the company’s founding but was a time of tremendous growth and change just the same. As a result, not much of the narrative covers the years from 1992 to 1996, at which point Compaq absorbed the firm. I will have to leave it to others to fill in this gap in some other way should what I have shared be insufficient.
There are so many to be acknowledged and thanked. First and foremost are Ed Martin, Dave and Fran Peatrowsky and Patty and Tony Turner without whose enthusiasm, support and occasional nudging over the years, this narrative would never have been completed. Second is to my fellow Tandemites who so kindly have allowed me to reflect their words in this way, provided photos and continue to express their keen support for this project. Mark Hammond, my editor friend who has helped with several other of my books to strengthen their readability in the most professional of ways and Troy Chasey, from Capitola Design, whose artistic help with cover design I deeply appreciate. Jan Seamons, whose memory, photos and help with final proofreading was immeasurably valuable, and Henry Norman, whose review caught lots of little technical corrections that I would have missed otherwise. Thanks also need to go to Dennis McEvoy and Jim Katzman, who shared photos, brochures and insight into many of the early players. Jim, who I had the pleasure of finally meeting for the first time just a few months ago, has been invaluable in reconstructing those early years, especially in putting names to faces. His fabulous contribution to the photo archive and willingness to let me take a look at his early engineering notes and the various versions of the original business plans
