This from John Maloney (an ex-HP man)
“In the sixty years before ‘CarlyCo,’ HP led incredible growth through highly distributed, individualized models. The dignity of the individual was paramount. This single solitary value pioneered legendary worldwide practices as flex time, open-door, no-layoff, profit sharing, pay-as-you-go, community concern, product environmentalism, next bench engineering, distributed ‘loose/tight’ leadership, stock options/purchase plans, management by wandering around, beer busts, open offices, employee & spousal educational benefits, employee autonomy, etc., etc., aka, the HP Way. Did it ever work — from 1938 to 1998, HP grew more than 20% a year without a loss — giving it the longest period of fast growth in the history of American corporations.“
[First emphasis mine, second his]