Hewlett-Packard*

In one study, eighteen out of twenty HP executives interviewed spontaneously claimed that the success of their company depends on the company's people-oriented philosophy. It's called "the HP Way". Here's how founder Bill Hewlett describes it:

"I feel that in general terms it is the policies and actions that flow from the belief that men and women want to do a good job, a creative job, and that if they are provided with the proper environment they will do so. It is the tradition of treating every individual with consideration and respect and recognizing personal achievements. This sounds almost trite, but it is true. The dignity and worth of the individual is a very important part, then, of the HP Way. With this in mind, many years ago we did away with time clocks, and more recently we introduced the flexible work hours program*. Again, this is meant to be an expression of trust and confidence in people as well as providing them with an opportunity to adjust their work schedules to their personal lives. ... Many new HP people as well as visitors often note and comment to us about another HP way – that is, our informality, and our being on a first name basis. I could cite other examples, but the problem is that none by themselves really catches the essence of what the HP Way is all about. You can't describe it in numbers and statistics. In the last analysis it is a spirit, a point of view. There is a feeling that everyone is part of a team, and that team is HP. As I said at the beginning, it is an idea that is based on the individual. It exists because people have seen that it works, and they believe that this feeling makes HP what it is."

The people orientation at HP started early. In the 1940s Hewlett and Packard decided "not to be a hire and fire company."* That was a courageous decision in those times, when the electronics business was almost entirely government-supported. Later, HP's collective mettle* was to be tested when business was severely down during the 1970 recession. Rather than lay people off, Hewlett, Packard, and everyone else in the organization took a 10 percent cut in pay. Everyone worked 10 percent fewer hours. And HP successfully weathered the recession without having to sacrifice full employment.

The people philosophy at HP not only began early on but is also self-renewing. The corporate objectives were just rewritten and republished for all the employees, including a restatement of corporate philosophy. The very first sentence reads: "The achievements of an organization are the result of the combined efforts of each individual." And a few sentences later HP reinforces its commitment to innovative people*, a philosophy that has been a driving force in the organization's success. "first, there should be highly capable, innovative people throughout the organization ... second, the organization should have objectives and leadership which generate enthusiasm at all levels. People in important management positions should not only be enthusiastic themselves, they should be selected for their ability to engender enthusiasm* among their associates." The introduction to the revised corporate objective statement concludes: "Hewlett-Packard [should not] have a tight, military-type organization, but rather ... give people the freedom to work toward [overall objectives] in ways they determine best for their own areas of responsibility."

The faith that HP has in its people is conspicuously in evidence in the corporate "open lab stock" policy* that a few of our students encountered in the Santa Rosa division. The lab stock area is where the electrical and mechanical components are kept. The open lab stock policy means that not only do the engineers have free access to this equipment, but they are actually encouraged to take it home for their personal use! The idea is that whether or not what the engineers are doing with the equipment is directly related to the project they are working on, by fooling around with the equipment at work or at home, they will learn – and so reinforce the company's commitment to innovation. Legend has it that Bill [Hewlett] visited a plant on a Saturday and found the lab stock area locked. He immediately went down to maintenance, grabbed a bolt cutter*, and proceeded to cut the padlock off the lab stock door. He left a note that was found on Monday morning: "Don't ever lock this door again. Thanks, Bill."

In short, the most extraordinary trait at HP is uniformity of commitment, the consistency of approach and attitude. Wherever you go in the HP empire, you find people talking product quality, feeling proud of their division's achievements in that area. HP people at all levels show boundless energy and enthusiasm, so much so that many of our colleagues, after a chance encounter with an HP executive, engineer, or line worker*, ask, "Is this guy for real?"* And then they meet more, and invariably their skepticism, no matter how hard they try to keep it, begins to fade. We ourselves tried to remain sober*, not to become fans. But it proved impossible.