The Hidden Power of Your Customers: Four Keys to Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers

WHAT WE VALUE

It's not enough, however, to establish a customer-service culture. Many organizations start out with good intentions in this area but for various reasons lose their way as they grow, hit difficult circumstances, or change leadership.

Recall the success guidelines listed at the beginning of this chapter; the one that helps to keep the culture fires burning is to “assemble a clear set of company values.” Organizations that maintain a clear focus on company values have made a commitment to live and breathe those values, day in and day out. The story of one such company started fairly simply: with two young engineers working out of a garage.

The HP Way

My first job out of college was with Hewlett-Packard, now known simply as HP. It was an organization where clear values were instilled in all of us by the founders, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, who could be seen on a regular basis wandering the halls and talking to employees about what we were doing. The company's values were embodied in the “HP Way,” a management philosophy centered on integrity, respect for individuals, teamwork, innovation, and contribution to customers and the community. Managers shared this approach with all employees, and while it wasn't something that we memorized or carried around on cards, we were all trained to recognize and live it as the HP way of doing business.

Shortly before David Packard passed away, in 1996, he wrote a book called The HP Way and gave a copy to all of us employees. Here's ...