Bill & Dave
by Michael S. Malone · first published 2007
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Traces the history of Hewlett-Packard and its founders' management style, the origin of much of Silicon Valley's culture. Explains the HP Way and sheds light on the company's later decisions.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"The most momentous first meeting in modern business history took place inthe unlikely setting of a bench beside a football field, between two Stanford University students in pads and helmets. A few years later in 1938, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard were working out of a small garage in Palo Alto, California, building their first product, an audio oscillator. It was the start not only of a legendary company but of an entire way of life in Silicon Valley - and, ultimately, our modern digital age." "Others have written about the rise of Hewlett-Packard, including Packard himself in a bestselling
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Bill & Dave: How Hewlett and Packard Built the World's Greatest Company - Michael Malone : One of the first Silicon Valley start-ups which grew to incomparable heights through the management style of its two founders. Unfortunately, the lessons they taught are being ignored in today's Quick Buck environment.
on “Ask HN: Recommendations on books and documentaries on tech companies/people?” ↗I nearly went to IBM. Fortunately I didn't. Their program for plant visits was the best of any of the companies I interviewed with: at the end of the day, they asked me to estimate all my expenses, and then they handed me an envelope of cash. Another legacy company book HN'ers would really like for a Christmas gift is "Bill & Dave" https://www.amazon.com/Bill-Dave-Hewlett-Packard-Greatest/dp...
on “The Rise and Fall of the 'IBM Way'” ↗You need to read a book called Bill & Dave ( http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Dave-Hewlett-Packard-Greatest/dp/... ). Seriously. Everything good about Silicon Valley is owed to that company, and to its founders. It's impossible to place Fiorina's actions in any sort of context until one understands that.
on “Carly Fiorina destroyed the 'HP Way'” ↗For those who want to relive the HP Way or learn about it for the first time, I highly recommend: "Bill & Dave: How Hewlett and Packard Built the World's Greatest Company" by Michael S. Malone https://www.amazon.com/Bill-Dave-Hewlett-Packard-Greatest/dp...
on “The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company (1960)” ↗Read: "Bill & Dave" by Michael Malone. Agilent took the heart & soul of HP. Then it split further (Keysight et al) HP took the printers, which at least used to be a good business. HPE is the wretched refuse that's left.
on “Juniper Networks to Combine with HPE” ↗In doing my research on current books, I checked out a few from the library that were really good and definitely HN-worthy: Bill and Dave (Michael Malone). The history of Hewlett-Packard. Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes (Travis Baldree) Hitch-22 (Christopher Hitchens). his memoir
on “Amazon is filled with garbage e-books, this is how they get made” ↗Oh I loved Infinite Loop by Malone. Bill and Dave sounds like an insta-checkout for me.
on “Amazon is filled with garbage e-books, this is how they get made” ↗…(by the way) often happened during the bubble. HP is no model company in this respect. I have seen this company do some pretty questionable things over the years. Yet the HP cultural carryover from "Bill and Dave" days is something to be admired and, insofar as that is reflected in the points made by the author, is worthy of being emulated. This author's views probably represent a minority position in today's…
on “In Defense of Standards, Ethics, and Honest Financial Reporting at HP” ↗…MIT or anywhere else, on say, LinkedIn. You're a nut, an intruder. I doubt this will ever work. 2) There is an chasm separating intellectualism and ambition that is difficult to understand. When I read Bill and Dave, I was taken back by the ambition of early Stanford engineering faculty. But today? I know too many at universities with stunning intelligence, but still have that profit-is-evil and corporations-are-bad…
on “Cities and Ambition” ↗