The HP Way - David Packard - Book Review

I was led to this book after reading Tom Perkins' Valley Boy. The book is somewhat of an inconsistent read though. It is part memoir and part Valley history. But partly it reads as the HP employee benefits package explaining the history and values of HP. You can learn about how Fred Terman mentored Packard and other entrepreneurs of the Bay Area. In turn, Packard helped other budding businesses (Tektronix for ex.) The book illustrates the spirit of cooperation amidst competition that existed in the hi-tech industry, HP and General Radio, for example.
Many of the practices that are taken for granted in the Valley companies like: comprehensive benefits program, profit sharing programs like ESPP, stock options, education reimbursement, etc., company offsites and company picnics, informal work atmosphere, de-centralized organization structure, open door policy, etc. all of these were pioneered or early adopted by HP.

The takeaway messages from the book are the principles of Management by Objective and Management by Walking Around. Packard talks about how the management works effectively by laying out the objective and leaving the details to the team doing the execution. He also talks about Management By Walking Around (MBWA), which balances the former principle. He talks about how the managers need to have a deep view of their business, including all the details of how execution happens. His approach for gaining that is by walking around the factory floor and watching everyone doing their jobs. He argues that detailed view is vital for effective management and that Walking around will help in overseeing exactly how the goals of a business are carried out and in correcting the mistakes that could happen in Execution.

The book although it was a very good read, it somehow did not fit together and did not feel complete to me. I still recommend it.