Two heads are better than one, or so the saying goes. While many CEOs choose to keep all their company secrets closely guarded for fear of losing ground to the competition, Hewlett and Packard were of another opinion. They believed that in some cases, collaboration can actually be better than competition – for everyone involved.
“We knew what technology was available, and we figured out how little bits of it would fit within the area where we wanted to be,” said Hewlett. “There was not one giant step that we took at any point; there were a lot of little steps. Pretty much we just stuck to our knitting. I think we were concerned about making a technical contribution and we operated on the assumption that if we made a contribution to society, rewards would follow.”
A lot of those little steps he mentioned were in establishing an open and ongoing conversation with HP’s competitors. Hewlett and Packard believed that so long as they were not divulging information about something relating to their overall strategic path, then collaboration was as healthy as, and in fact a catalyst for in-company innovation.
According to Hewlett, the secret of HP’s success was simply “choosing the right things to do.” By keeping an eye and an ear on the competition, they were able to predict and capitalize upon some of the major market shifts.
Maintaining an open relationship with its competitors allowed HP to gain a better understanding of who were the movers and the shakers, and who were the up and coming stars in the industry. It was in that vein that HP began to nurture ASK Computer Systems founder Sandra Kurtzig. ASK was still a small company at the time, but they set up shop within HP’s offices and began writing their software on HP computers. Their team was literally working around the clock, sleeping in sleeping bags stored in the office closets to roll out their product. In the end, it was all worth it for HP. ASK’s profits soon entered the hundreds of millions and helped boost the sales of HP computers around the world.
Being as aware as they were about the market trends and shifts, however, Hewlett and Packard always kept in the back of their minds the possibility that it could all be over one day. Instead of worrying about it, they planned for it.
During World War II, HP’s earnings and employment both took a slight hit. However, within just a few years of the war ending, the company had comeback. HP built its first office building and even had to expand into a neighbouring Quonset hut. Even then, they needed more space. Hewlett and Packard decided to build another plant right next to their current office. But in designing it, they did not think particularly about how it would function for HP. Instead, they wanted to keep it an open all-purpose building. Why? Just in case the company came to a close, they would be able to lease out the space as a supermarket.
For Hewlett and Packard, the competition represented more opportunity than it did a threat. They wanted to learn from them what they could and develop mutually beneficial working relationships. In the case that it did not work out, that they would not achieve their long-term goals, they also had a backup plan. They never failed to account for the unknown.
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