Much more personal than standard corporate histories, David Packard's The HP Way provides insights into managing and motivating people and inspiration for would-be entrepreneurs. This bestselling classic joins the Collins Business Essentials line-up with a new Note from Steve Jobs.

From a one-car-garage company to a multibillion-dollar industry, the rise of Hewlett-Packard is an extraordinary tale of vision, innovation and hard work. Conceived in 1939, Hewlett-Packard earned success not only as a result of its engineering know-how and cutting-edge product ideas, but also because of the unique management style it developed - a way of doing things called 'the HP way'.

Decades before today's creative management trends, Hewlett-Packard invented such strategies as 'walk-around management', 'flextime', and 'quality cycles'. Always sensitive to the needs of its customers and responsive to employee input, Hewlett-Packard earned massive steady growth that far outshone its competitors' vacillating fortunes, even with radically different products from those responsible for its initial boom.

For entrepreneurs and managers alike, the wisdom found in these pages is invaluable if they want their businesses to gain steady growth and consistent success.

Packard, David

With Bill Hewlett, David Packard was cofounder of the Hewlett-Packard Company. In September 1993, he retired as chairman of the board and was named chairman emeritus. He served in that position until his death on March 26, 1996.