|
|
Bill and Dave on business Updated Oct 21, 2023.
Also see:
- Timeless business lessons from HP history. HP people talk about what went right – and what went wrong – as this continuous startup grew rapidly for decades.
- Original statements of the HP Way (1980, 1992) and Corporate Objectives (1966)
Question? Email: info@hpalumni.org
The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company – by
David Packard, David Kirby, and Karen Lewis
Bill & Dave's Memos
– Edited by Albert Yuen Author's
LinkedIn profile
"In 1996.. while working as an engineering manager at
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories... I wanted to find out for myself
how Bill and Dave ran the company on a daily basis. So I started
to spend my off-hour time at the HP archives, where much of Bill
and Dave's original memos and speeches are kept. As I pored
through the boxes of memos, I gained a deeper appreciation of
the breadth of the management style that came to be know as the
HP Way... Bill and Dave managed to preserve the spirit of the HP
Way from the garage to a global operation over the 40+ years
that they directly managed the corporation. If you take the time
to learn about the HP Way, you will see that it constitutes some
very sound management practices that are beyond sentimental
emotions of days gone by." --from the author's introduction
February 2007. ISBN-10:
1424327814
Some examples: Hewlett announcing the nine-day fortnight.
Packard's forceful memo on MBWA and the open door policy.
Hewlett on why HP stopped expanding in the Bay Area. Packard on
why a company exists.
Collins Hardcover (May 1995) ISBN-10:
0887307477
Collins Paperback (January 2006) ISBN-10:
0060845791 (New forward by Jim Collins.)
Packard talks to HP managers about basic business principles (1974)
After a disappointing year in 1973, Packard embarked on a series of talks to groups of managers. "...they show an 'unvarnished' Packard -- with his temper up, his irritability clearly in evidence, and his motivational juices flowing... The impact of these talks was immense and immediate." https://www.hpalumni.org/PackardAnalyzesFinancialReport.pdf includes Dave Kirby's background note and typewritten transcripts of two meetings. [Thanks to member Leo Forget.]
"For some reason, we've got this talking about one of our objectives is to increase the share of the market... it leads you to the wrong kind of decisions ...we have a rather significant share of the market in CATV amplifiers, and we'd be just a hell of a lot better off if we hadn't ever touched that business and if our share was zero."
"...I don't understand why the hell we have finished goods inventories going up 49% when we had sales going up only 38%... What the hell are we keeping all this goddamn stuff in finished inventory for?"
"...if you've got to price your products too low to generate a profit to get an adequate level of business, you're making the wrong product..."
"...we found around the company there are all kinds of things that people just didn't know about -- and you can't manage something if you don't know about it."
"...a growth company is not growing in size; it's growing in earnings potential..."
Helping each other with life after HP and HPE: Website Index Forums
Independent, member-supported volunteer association. Not officially endorsed or supported. © 2024 Hewlett-Packard Alumni Association, Inc. By using this site you accept these terms.