The HP Way

In the fall of 1930, David Packard left his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado, to enroll at Stanford University. There, he befriended another freshman, Bill Hewlett.

After graduation from college, Hewlett and Packard decided to throw their lots in together. They tossed a coin to decide whose name should go first on the notice of incorporation, then cast about in search of products to sell.

Today, the one-car garage in Palo Alto that housed their first workshop is a California historic landmark: the birthplace of Silicon Valley. And Hewlett-Packard has produced thousands of innovative products for millions of customers throughout the world. Their little company employs 98,400 people and boasts constantly increasing sales that reached $25 billion in 1994.

While there are many successful companies, there is only one Hewlett-Packard. Because from the very beginning, Bill and Dave had a way of doing things that was contrary to the prevailing management strategies. In defining the objectives for their company, Packard and Hewlett wanted more than profits, revenue growth, and a constant stream of new happy customers. For the, business success also included:

• A focus on fields of interest in which innovative, meaningful contributions were possible
• A dedicated, fairly compensated workforce and a working environment that fostered intense individual creativity
• A companywide commitment to community involvement

Yet even these objectives don't quite tell the whole story. Hewlett-Packard's success owes a great deal to other factors: openness to change, an unrelenting will to win, the virtue of sustained hard work. As a result, HP is now universally acclaimed as the world's most admired technology company; its wildly successful approach to business has been immortalized as The HP Way.

In this book, David Packard tells the simple, yet extraordinary story of his life's work and of the truly exceptional company that he and Bill Hewlett started in a garage fifty-five years ago.

1. Pueblo to Stanford
2. Friendship with Hewlett
3. Garage Becomes Workshop
4. Gaining More Space
5. From Partnership to Corporation
6. Growth from Profit
7. Commitment to Innovation
8. Listening to Customers
9. Trust in People
10. Growing the Organization
11. Managing the Organization
12. Responsibility to Society

• Appendix 1: Historical Highlights of Hewlett-Packard Company
• Appendix 2: Product Innovation at HP
• Appendix 3: Vintage Charts

The P in HP tells us why he did everything the right way…