Communication

Frits Philips recognized early on the need for good communication between management and workers. As Philips increased in size and complexity, that need grew. In an article in the newspaper Het Eindhovens Dagblad dated 21 January 1965 he put his finger on the sore spot: ‘We do everything within our power to communicate our intentions, to get them across, to press them home (…) We have not yet fully understood how important it is to make time for communication. The same applies in industry, which I see as a vehicle for promoting the growth and maintenance of a healthy society.’

With his wife Sylvia Philips-Van Lennep on a visit to Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard, with whom the family enjoyed a good relationship.

Frits Philips was a popular chairman of the group that was later to become the Works Council. President Frits Philips, who in 1965 was responsible for 250,000 workers in factories around the world, stuck to his principles without compromise. During visits abroad, he did not hesitate to confront kings, presidents (including Julius Nyerere of Tanzania) and other people in high office with those principles as he saw fit.