If H-P Can Do It, So Can Your Company

Take away the standard company-boosting, executive-suite jargon, and Hurd hit on three components of H-P's winning formula, ones that any business can follow:

1. Diverse customers: There's something to be said for being all things to all people. H-P targets a variety of markets. Major corporations, of course, are a major source of revenue. But the company also customizes services for small-business owners and individual consumers. The H-P Web site, for example, has a whole section on craft projects for families (including some Spanish-language examples) and offers free online classes in everything from Photoshop to writing a Christmas newsletter.

H-P is getting a foothold in the education market, which in the past was largely Apple territory. This year, the company debuted a 2 ½-pound mini laptop computer for use in schools. It also teamed with the national PTA to sponsor "family movie nights" at thousands of schools around the country as a promotion for the PTA's new online video store, set up by H-P.

2. Broad portfolio: It's something cell-phone companies have understood for years: It's great to produce snazzy new gadgets, but the real profit comes from monthly plans that bring in predictable, guaranteed revenue.

More than half of H-P's profit comes from long-term, steady deals. Such service contracts can keep a company's bottom line from crashing when sales of products such as printers and computers dry up.

3. Cost initiatives: Hurd's terminology is basically a fancy way of saying the company has been aggressive about cutting the fat. In September, H-P announced it would be laying off 24,600 employees, largely as a result of its merger with EDS.