Todd Gustafson’s Post

I worked for HP in a time of higher-up transition. With a new CEO came big changes like staff cuts. While stock prices went up for a few quarters, this form of profitability is a cautionary tale. HP’s business development was the result of short-term gains. They created value on a financial scale, for shareholders but did not consider their community of employees and customers. The company missed an opportunity to create long-term value and have since started to fade into the background. On this week’s episode of Great Mondays Radio I explore more about prioritizing safety and quality vs. prioritizing efficiency. We cannot take shortcuts and get comfortable with the short-term gains. When it comes to culture, there are no shortcuts. Culture is an investment. Tune in this week to hear about viewing culture as a long-term value generator and empowering your employees.

Delighted to share that I've successfully completed the HP LIFE Sales Forecasting course! 📊💼 Mastering sales forecasting is paramount for any business striving for success. This course has provided me with a deep understanding of market analysis, trend identification, and effective forecasting techniques. Throughout the course, I gained practical insights into leveraging data to predict sales performance, which is invaluable for strategic decision-making and resource allocation. Grateful for the opportunity to enhance my skills through HP LIFE's comprehensive curriculum. Excited to apply these insights to drive revenue growth and contribute to the success of my team and organization. #SalesForecasting #ProfessionalDevelopment #HPLIFE #BusinessStrategy

Happy first day of summer from HP WorkSolutions! ☀️🌴 As the season kicks off, help your business succeed and grow with ease. Choose HP WorkSolutions to streamline your work, making your summers easier and giving you more time to enjoy with family. Let's make this summer productive and fun! #HPWorkSolutions #FirstDayOfSummer #BusinessGrowth #WorkLifeBalance

"Thrilled to have completed the Unique Value Proposition course by HP Life! 🚀 This journey has equipped me with valuable insights on how to effectively communicate what sets a business apart. Ready to leverage these skills and make a meaningful impact in my professional pursuits! #HPLIFE #UniqueValueProposition #ContinuousLearning"

Thrilled to have completed the HP LIFE online course on Unique Value Proposition! 🚀 This course has given me valuable insights into crafting a strong value proposition, assessing competitors, and understanding the key elements that differentiate a business. Excited to apply these new skills and drive meaningful impact in my future projects! #LearningNeverStops #HPFoundation #UniqueValueProposition #ProfessionalDevelopment

I was thinking back to some really interesting things I have been able to do in my career, and one of my absolute favorites was the HP Experts program. What were the HP Experts? Conceptually, the program featured the best of the best who defined HP and made it unique. It included: 100+ HP Experts, IP inventors, strategists, consultants, technologists, published authors and researchers. The program provided the glue for awareness and demand generation activities, forums/communities, events, and social media and drove services attach for the HP $10B Technology Services business. It was a powerful message: "HP Experts define us and make us unique. They connect us to our history and help our clients every day. They are the real people behind HP." They were our key differentiators: connecting with clients and differentiating HP and cultivating thought leadership through engagement in digital and social media. In a very short amount of time, we were able to build a demand generation campaign that not only brought clients to engage with our Expert community, but we built individual Expert brands featuring them social media (which was in its early days at HP) and rich media channels.   The results? Dramatic improvements in penetration rates for services attached, increase in HP social media presence, and an overall year that had 30 percent increase in revenue YoY. It also drove a 30% increase in event attendance and a 3x increase in click-through rates. And that was just in the first year. Of course, for me the best part was that I got to work with some amazing minds, many of whom say their careers were boosted by the program and get geeky with engineers, including Master Technologists and Distinguished Technologists. And, of course, we launched the beginning of the "Tinker Twins" brand. Read more about them here: https://lnkd.in/gEpyKBwi   If you were a part of this program - comment here on its success! I'd love to hear from you! Hire me and I can do something innovative like this for you! Greg Tinker Chris Tinker Jeremy Brann Elizabeth Roche Wade Vinson Jeff Holderfield Scott Harsany Lee Kedrie Thomas B. #hireme #opentowork

Feeling accomplished and happy after completing HP Life's online course on Basics of Finance! I'm now empowered with practical knowledge to tackle financial challenges and drive growth. Time to put my new skills into action! #Happy #FinancialLiteracy #HPLife #PersonalGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment

Recently, I have been recommended the "HP Way" by D. Packard. It details the management principles and corporate culture that drove Hewlett-Packard's success: 1. Management by Walking Around (MBWA): Engaging with employees directly to understand their work and foster open communication. 2. Trust and Respect for Individuals: Valuing and empowering employees, encouraging initiative and innovation. 3. Focus on Innovation: Prioritising research and development to create leading-edge products and solutions. 4. Commitment to Quality and Customer Satisfaction: Delivering high-quality products and ensuring customer satisfaction. 5. Corporate Responsibility: Upholding ethical standards and contributing positively to the community. 6. Long-term Perspective: Focusing on sustainable growth and long-term success over short-term gains. I must say that resonates a lot with my experience (especially 1., 2., 4., and 5.). What do you think? #HP #Management #CampanyCulture #GoodPractice #RaisingAwareness

Level Up My Pricing Skills with HP LIFE Foundation Certification! I'm proud to announce that I've earned a certificate in Setting Prices from the HP LIFE Foundation! This program provided a deep dive into the strategies and frameworks behind effective pricing models. Now I'm better equipped to: Analyze customer value: Understand what truly matters to my customers and how pricing reflects that value. Develop competitive pricing strategies: Set prices that are both profitable and attractive in the market. Implement pricing tactics: Choose the right pricing models and tactics to achieve business objectives. A big thanks to the HP LIFE Foundation for this valuable learning experience! I'm excited to leverage this newfound knowledge to [ Briefly mention how you plan to use this new skill in your work or future endeavors. For example, "optimize my pricing strategy for my freelance services" or "contribute to data-driven pricing decisions within my team"]. #HPlife #PricingStrategy #Certification #ValueBasedPricing #BusinessAcumen