How can a business increase employee engagement and productivity? How can the company grow more strongly while remaining equally effective? In what ways do you pursue the goals you set for yourself? These questions were perfectly answered by HP's CEO in 1960. Learn what business principles haven't changed and what the HP company success was built upon. Could this be the key to growing your company and increasing the productivity of your employees?

The company's goal - should it only be financial?

"Money should not be the only reason to run a company". - This was precisely the approach to business that HP's CEO had, and it was this approach that led him to the top. So what should be the purpose of doing business? According to Dave Packard, if someone is only interested in profits, he won't produce anything worthwhile. He was convinced that when running a business, your main goal should be to bring something new and unique to the market. You have to give people a product or service they need and won't get from others.

HP co-founder Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard both claimed that making a great fortune was not their priority. The goal has always been to bring needed services and products to the market that were simply lacking and in demand. They achieved unexpected business success through this approach - follow your passion and create unique things, and the money will follow. Through cooperation and a common goal, they created something that customers could not get anywhere else. What they create was and is unique.

Is this approach right? Everyone may look at it differently, but we agree one hundred percent. When running a business, set a goal, which will not be money - by making good products, or giving unique services, the money will surely come by itself. Let it be the desire to develop and bring something original to the market that drives you. Even though it's been more than 60 years since that speech, it's still worth emphasizing that the financial goal should not be the priority of your business. It is those timeless beliefs and the desire to create new and unique things that should be paramount.

The success of the company lies in the right approach to employees

Responsible for managing the company, Packard had an extremely modern approach to employees. He gave them plenty of freedom and dispensed with rigidly fixed working hours. He was also one of the first to introduce Christmas bonuses, company health insurance, or profit-sharing with employees, as a thank-you for good performance during a given period - for a long term goal and long term success, employee benefits were really important. As a result, he motivated his employees, increase their effectiveness and showed them that they were vital to the company's success.

From the very beginning, HP's CEO knew that a good team member is the foundation of a thriving business. The set goal is measurable through the best qualities of each person individually, so each engaged employee should aim high and have their own goal and awareness that they are doing something extremely important and relevant to the people, thus giving their small contribution to the overall project. Doing something only for financial gain will not make any valuable contribution to the company. People work best when they have a set goal and know what they want to achieve.

In Packard's management, a big role was played by managers and supervisors, who were tasked with not only dictating orders, but managing the team, showing them the best solutions, and listening to their needs and helping them. Managers should direct them in the right way and show employees that they are doing something important. It is also extremely important for managers to have a good understanding of employees' tasks - the manager must know what his group does and what their tasks are like. He must know the details of the work, know how to do it, and only then will he become a good manager.

It is because of such standards that the hierarchy in the HP team began to flatten, and the distance between the management and the employee was smaller. This made employees more productive and managers more committed. For HP's CEO, it is in the approach to employees that the companys success lies.

Best quality at a good price - attention to every detail is crucial

Even as HP became very successful company, business owner Packard knew that it could not settle on its laurels and had to grow the company, but without losing the efficiency and quality of its goods. To create better and better products, the smallest details must not be forgotten. It is by focusing on the details and launching a refined product that you can gain the trust of customers, and your products will defend themselves. Customers will surely appreciate it, remember you and, of course, use your services again. Remember - customer satisfaction and good customer experience is a key!

Before you start another project or create a new product make sure that the previous one is perfected to the smallest detail. Customer feedback might be really important - new customer or a potential customers will already know if it's worth to use your services or not. More than 60 years ago, HP's CEO emphasized the importance of quality products and services in running a business. He constantly reminded us that useless and poor-quality products would not excite customers, and the company would not gain their trust.

Sixty-three years have passed, and the principles that guided HP's CEO still hold true. A quality + a reasonable price - these are the combinations Packard wanted to bring to the market and these are the combinations customers need. When starting a company, remember to know the market and potential buyers' needs. This is the first step to creating a prosperous company, guaranteeing product usefulness. Don't forget to take care of your team - employees are often the foundation of small business and can help you build a product you would not be able to create without them.

The text was written based on a speech by HP CEO David Packard.

The entire speech can be viewed here: LINK