The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company
, subject: Hewlett-Packard company principles and philosophy.
Packard's own account explains how HP tried to combine profit, autonomy, technical standards, and civic obligation at scale.
About the book
David devotes Episode 29 to Packard's account and returns to its operating principles when comparing partnerships, company values, profit, autonomy, and durable institutional character.
Why read it
Best if you want a founder autobiography centered on partnership, operating objectives, decentralized management, profit, and institutional character
Key themes
- A Durable Partnership
- Objectives And Autonomy
- Profit As A Requirement
Evidence and original sources
The host explicitly recommends The HP Way, framing a reading of the prologue as an introduction to why the book is worth reading.
- Larry Ellison (Oracle) — Senra references his earlier podcast coverage of The HP Way by David Packard while contrasting HP's founding values with Oracle's win-at-all-costs culture.
- The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company — This episode is dedicated to David Packard's The HP Way, with the host reading and discussing extended highlights throughout the episode.
- David Packard (Founder of HP) — David explicitly names The HP Way as the autobiography this episode covers.
- The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt — With The HP Way in hand, David uses Hewlett and Packard as a rare example of a durable equal founding partnership.
- Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World — David mentions he previously read The HP Way and made a Founders episode about it, connecting Hewlett and Packard's principles to Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse's mindset.
Unofficial listener-built companion, not affiliated with or endorsed by David Senra or Founders Podcast.