Philosopher of capitalism

Nation's Business, March, 1986 by Susan Ager

Its manufacturing plants are playfully designed, brightly colored and scattered with lifesize papier-mache figures of men and women at work. to employees who become new parents, the company awards a classic Charles Eames molded fiberglass chair or a newer Ergon chair, with a rocker base and baby's name on the back. At De Pree's frequent urging, employees use their "gifts" at work.

For example, one of the weekly newsletters published by Jim Nagelkirk, a chair plant supervisor, includes an inspirational Nagelkirk poem called "Rust or Revival," printed immediately above the latest "criteria for zipper installation."

De Pree is as intrigued with the process of designing and manufacturing office furniture and with how fulfilled workers feel about their work as he is with the product.

"What you make is very important. I also think the way in which you do it is very important," he says. "Making a chair is important if you're really making a good chair. And here at Herman Miller, we don't want to do anything that's frivolous, or superficial, and we don't want to do anything that's destructive .... Yes, I can get excited about making chairs, but also about capitalism, and where it ought to go."

Under current company policy, he must retire as CEO when he turns 65. No De Pree will succeed him because, years ago, he and Hugh decided to institute an anti-nepotism policy that has prohibited any of their children (Max and Esther, his wife of 39 years, have four) from working for the company.

Approaching retirement, De Pree is most concerned by all he fears he will not have time to do. Asked for an example, he does not name a chair design, or a new panel system. Instead, he talks about those who work in his factories and whose photos appeared in his annual report. He dreams, he says, of a time when "people are so familiar with what needs to be done, and why it needs to be done, that how it gets done is not a problem. That would fundamentally change the role of supervision in industry, and that's where I'd like to see it go.

"Out in the plant, for example," he says, "you have several hundred people who manage their own lives well, who are good parents and have been good children, and they have a lot of capability. When they go home at night, they donht actually need a supervisor to tell them how to be a good parent. And being a good parent is a lot tougher than making chairs."