The Power of Networked Teams: Creating a Business Within a Business at HP in Colorado Springs

Hewlett-Packard has long been one of the world's most respected companies--universally heralded for its leadership, unique corporate culture (called the HP Way), superior products, and sustained financial performance.
This book takes the reader into the trenches of financial transaction processing at HP. The authors find there an unusual success story with application to virtually every industry and organization, regardless of size. They tell the story of HP's experience with creating both a new organization and a new organizational form--networked teams--to provide shared financial transaction processing for its US factory locations. In just over 9 years, this unique and wildly successful organization is processing over $19 billion of transactions annually while reducing transaction costs as a percentage of revenue by a factor of four--highly significant for a $47 billion company--while engendering exceptionally high employee and customer satisfaction.
Many of the key players involved in getting this unique organization off the ground provide fascinating first-hand accounts about the often overlooked potential of transforming routine organizational processes into new and creative forms capable of generating major contributions to the bottom line. The HP story is one about creating and growing a world-class organization within a huge company. But most importantly, it is a success story created in the trenches without strong top management support. It is a story that CEOs and CFOs will find compelling, but one that brings hope and guidance to line managers and professionals responsible for day-to-day organizational life.

Pamela Shockley-Zalabak is Professor of Communication and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and President of CommuniCon, Inc., a privately-held consulting organization. The author of 3 previous books and numerous articles, she has spent the last 11 years researching and working with a variety of team-based organizations, including the start-up of HP's Financial Services Center.
Sandra Buffington Burmester is Worldwide Communications Manager for Hewlett-Packard's Financial Services in Colorado Springs. As the staffing and training manager for the fledgling Financial Services Center, she played a pivotal role in the design of critical processes. The development of the organization, as well as the individuals within the organization, has been her major focus over the past 9 years.