It is a people-oriented approach to business that considers the employees of the company its most valuable asset. In “Origins” Emery Rogers, the First Executive Director of the Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation explains it this way: “The essence of the HP Way, plain and simple; top management sets the overall objective and then gets out of the way and lets the people do it.” It emphasizes that decisions should be made at the lowest possible level.
-Origins (http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/origins/)