MY FIRST JOB WASN’T JUST ABOUT LEARNING TO BE AN ENGINEER – I also learnt how to be human at work.
I had just graduated from Imperial College in 1980 and joined HP’s Telecoms Division at South Queensferry in Scotland – a small, dreary town by the Firth of Forth.
As a group of young graduates, we were all put through an apprentice program that included “The HP Way”.
This wasn’t your usual corporate onboarding – it was a complete philosophy of how to live, work, and lead.
Around that same time, the book ‘In Search of Excellence’ came out – and HP was held up as one of the most admired and innovative companies in the world.
Wow!
For those of us who had just joined, that made us proud. We knew we had made the right decision.
More importantly, it taught us that doing things the right way matters.
These were the principles that defined Silicon Valley and became the DNA of icons like Intel Corporation, Apple, and Google.
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🌿 The HP Way was built around five simple principles:
1️⃣ PROFIT is not the goal – it’s the result of doing the right things well.
HP’s founders, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, believed the real purpose of business was to make a contribution. Focus on excellence, and profit would follow.
2️⃣ CUSTOMERS come first.
We were taught to listen – to understand the customer’s problem deeply before offering a solution. It wasn’t just service. It was respect.
3️⃣ FIELD OF INTEREST – do only what you can do best.
HP avoided chasing fads. That discipline allowed engineers to master their craft instead of running after every shiny trend.
4️⃣ GROWTH through opportunity, not just size.
Growth meant creating space for people to learn, invent, and lead – not just expanding headcount or revenue for its own sake.
5️⃣ RESPECT for individuals.
Everyone, from technician to VP, was treated with dignity.
We had a culture called MBWA – “Management by Walking Around.”
Managers didn’t hide in offices. They walked the floor, listened, and asked questions.
They ‘turun padang’.
When I moved to HP Labs in Palo Alto, those values still guided everything – from research to management.
I practiced it myself.
There, scientists and researchers were empowered to work with freedom and trust – the culture assumed you wanted to do the right thing.
When Carly Fiorina became CEO in 1999, everything changed.
🔶 Targets replaced trust.
🔶 Revenue replaced respect.
🔶 Purpose became valuation and stock price.
Within a year, many of us left – not because we stopped believing in HP, but because HP had stopped believing in The HP Way.
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I will always cherish those 20 years.
They taught me how to manage people, technology, and business – the right way.
Now, whenever I find a culture that values integrity, contribution, and respect, I try to practice a little of that HP Way again. And try to pass it on.
