Overview, HP

1. Familiarize yourself with the EAS-5450 Course Syllabus.pdf available on Canvas.
2. Review the EAS-5450 Course Outline.pdf (also available as EAS-5450 Course Outline.htm) Download EAS-5450 Course Outline.htm). The schedule and selected readings may change, so be sure to consult the course web site for the most up-to-date information.
3. Finally, read the “Case Method Overview.pdf” posted for reference on the course website.

As you review these critical course documents, consider the following:

• What resources are available to you for this course, at Penn, and for Innovation & Entrepreneurship?
• What are your responsibilities for the class?
• How do you prepare a case study for class discussion?
• What are the key requirements for an effective essay for this course?
• How do you make-up for missed assignments?

Study the short excerpt on “Louis Agassiz as a Teacher” available on the course web site. Louis Agassiz was a 19th century professor of the natural sciences. He is renowned for having revolutionized learning methods in this country. However, he is also known as a racist, and disturbingly, he used many of the scientific techniques that we use today to conduct unethical experiments. Agassiz’s checkered history notwithstanding, the application of these principles to entrepreneurship, are important for our program. Think about the relevance of Agassiz’s method to the discipline of the high-tech entrepreneur. Be prepared to discuss this article in class.

Next, read the 6-page article, “The Innovator’s DNA”. Study the five “discovery skills” that distinguish visionary entrepreneurs. Think carefully about the relevance of the above Agassiz article to the findings of this article. What discipline and skills are common to both? Relate these skills to yourself. Following advice from this article, what can you do to sharpen your personal innovation skills? Be prepared to discuss this article in class.

Read “The New Venture" available on the course web site. This is a chapter from Peter Drucker’s highly regarded and enduring book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. As you read this chapter, think about the following study questions:

• Who is Peter Drucker? Do a quick online search and familiarize yourself with “the world’s greatest management thinker” and “the father of modern management.”
• For the high-tech startup, what is the importance of Professor Drucker’s analysis of the phrase “entrepreneurial management”?
• Professor Drucker underscores four key requirements for entrepreneurial management. What are they and why are they important?
• Do you see any relationship with any of these four requirements and Louis Agassiz’s teaching methods?

Read the “Hewlett Packard: Creating, Running, and Growing an Enduring Company”. Think about the following study questions during your analysis of this case:

• In our reading by Peter Drucker, we studied certain requirements for entrepreneurial management. Can the ultimate success of HP be attributed, in whole or in part, to Bill Hewlett’s and Dave Packard’s adherence to Professor Drucker’s requirements? Explain.
• What other factors had a significant effect on the ultimate success of HP?
• What organizational structure and business processes did Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard create in their small company that allowed HP to evolve and grow?
• How did they run and grow the business? Were they simply “lucky” in creating a highly successful company?
• What did Dave Packard learn from his corporate job experiences prior to creating HP that where beneficial to HP’s success?

Be prepared to discuss the above readings and this case in class.

DUE

Following the guidelines in the Case Method Overview (posted in Canvas Files), write a concise 2-page essay addressing the question:

What are Peter Drucker’s four (4) requirements for entrepreneurial management? Discuss how or whether each of these pertain to the early success of Hewlett Packard? Explain using specific examples from the HP case.

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EENT mantra "look at the fish"

Innovator's DNA

Associating

• Questioning

• Observing, no assumption

• Experimenting

• Networking: broaden

Frameworks

Strategy, Vision (Market focus)

• Products that make a difference

• Target dominance of segments

• Team and target market are electrical engineers

Financing/Capital (Financial Foresight)

• No debt; 100% financed from earnings
• Strict cash management

Leadership/Founder (Role of founder)

• Complementary capabilities; division of labor
• What the company needs, What the founder can provide

Drucker Requirements

Market focus

Customer perspective

"new"=>unexpected->success

setup to expect the unexpected

• experimentation
• observation

Need => urgency

Want => margin, profit

Customer dictate "product" (association with context)

First mover advantage

Engage user in at early stage

Constant innovation

"Next bench"

• Engineers want and need

Open to change

No "me too" - unique, novel, avoid competition (no )

Focus - do it on sell it, capture value

meritocracy, flat hierarchy

Management by walking around: do not do this

Financial Foresight

ln flux of cash

plan for future, growth

Controls (procedure)

profit do not equals to cash: timing issue

no debt (founder experience)

Growth slower, more stable

non VC

Cash management - frugal

Top Management team before you need it

Building a Strong Management Team Early

People - skills

when you needs

What will you do [product vision strategy]

TRUST - relationship

Complementary skill sets

What company needs

Defining the Founder’s Role

Diff stages of growth of company

roles, responsibilities

mentors and advisors: Connections

• outside perspective
• objectivity
• experience

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HP Case

H: product, vision

P: business

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