She became the head of a $19 billion global service-provider company before the age of 45. She’s topped the Forbes list of the world’s 50 Most Powerful Women for two years in a row. Her latest triumph? She’s the first female (and the first outsider) to reign as CEO of the computer industry giant Hewlett-Packard. If her track record is any indication, Carly Fiorina is the company’s ticket to success in the new century.

As one of the star executives of Lucent Technologies, Fiorina negotiated Lucent’s highly successful spin-off from AT&T in early 1996. She followed up with a daring $90 million campaign that transformed the lumbering, outdated communications equipment business into an edgy competitor in the new Internet market. In 1998, after a promotion to president, Fiorina worked with Bell Labs engineers to breathe new life into product development. Not bad business dealings for a medieval history and philosophy major who quit UCLA’s law school after a semester in order to pursue a career as a high-level corporate player.

Fiorina’s customer savvy became famous at AT&T, where she courted clients with studied determination and intelligence. She turns a carefully tuned ear to her customers’ needs and, when she can, delivers with swift follow-through.

When Bell Atlantic Corp. expressed its concern that the process of ordering telephone equipment was too slow, Fiorina organized her team to cut ordering time from nine months to three. Such star treatment makes customers trust that Firorina will help them find better solutions. For example, a large telecom company that called on her merely to request a switch for their wireless business walked away with a switch that could handle both wireless and long-distance traffic – all for the same price as the original deal. Rather than just selling for the sake of the sale, Fiorina sells to create value for the customer.

It was not just her selling power that made her an ideal candidate for Hewlett-Packard, however. She was handpicked for her strength as both a saleswoman and an inspiring leader. Fiorina built her reputation for leadership in simple ways that demonstrated her commitment to success. When Lucent spun off from AT&T, for example, Fiorina was among those who stayed awake far into the night to perfect the prospectus for the following morning. As someone who works hard to get the job done, Fiorina recognizes the importance of saying a simple “Thank-you.” She sends balloons and flowers to employees who land big contracts. And the same listening skills that win her big sales inspire unwavering loyalty among her staff. When the wife of a senior executive at Lucent became ill, Fiorina arranged for medical advice, doctors and emotional support.

Fiorina hopes to reinvent the way HP does business by doing what she does best – delivering value.

Bill and Dave founded Hewlwtt-Packard on faith and goodwill.
In 1938, Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett, friends from their undergraduate days at Stanford, converted a one-car garage in Palo Alto into a makeshift workshop. Based on Hewlett’s experiments with negative feedback, the two produced their first product: the resistance-capacity audio oscillator, an electronic instrument used to test sound equipment. Burgeoning mogul Walt Disney snapped up eight of them to use in the production of the movie Fantasia. Deciding to “make a run for it ourselves,” Bill and Dave flipped a coin to decide the name of their new business: Hewlett-Packard.

The spirit of invention fueled the company’s success in more ways than one. Not only were Bill and Dave committed to inventing new products that would bring more value to consumers, they fundamentally revolutionized ideas about corporate culture, sharing a positive attitude about people that today’s company still reflects. In his memoir, Dave Packard wrote: “From the beginning, Bill Hewlett and I have had a strong belief in people. We believe that people want to do a good job and that it is important for them to enjoy their work at Hewlett-Packard…It has always been important to Bill and me to create an environment in which people have a chance to be their best, to recognize their potential, and to be recognized for their achievements.”

This positive attitude translated into novel ways of doing business. HP pioneered the “no closed-door” office policy by getting rid of doors altogether. Everyone – from top executives down – works in open spaces separated only by low-rise partitions. Dave and Bill’s vision was to keep things simple, do the thing that makes the most sense, trust your employees, and give them the freedom to succeed. Consider the then-innovative idea of “management by walking around,” a practice which gives managers and employees the opportunity to communicate in an environment of trust. Employees at HP offices around the country take the value of trust for granted; people feel free to leave bicycles unlocked and expensive equipment on empty desks.

Bill and Dave earned the trust of their employees by taking care of the employees interests first. Even during difficult economic times, HP has never had a major layoff. Instead, they found other ways to stabilize finances, with small pay cuts or transfers. In the ’90s, rather than simply laying off a large percentage of its work force, HP offered early retirements and a program of voluntary severance accompanied by a generous financial package.

Bill and Dave founded their corporate empire based on simple faith and goodwill: “We are proud of the people we have in our organization, their performance and their attitude toward one another, their jobs and the company. The company has been built around the individual, the personal dignity of each and the recognition of personal contributions.”