Shortly after Dion Weisler took over Hewlett-Packard Co.’s computer business in 2013, he assembled his charges to survey nearly 40 of its PCs, a hodgepodge of styles, sizes and colors splayed out in a conference room. He wanted the employees to feel embarrassed.
“There was nothing quite as telling as having the whole portfolio on a great big table and forcing our team to look at it,” said Mr. Weisler in a recent interview. He became chief executive of HP Inc., the personal-computer and printer business that emerged from the...