Welcome to the third installment of our new Great Debate series. This week, we're debating whether Meg Whitman will drive Hewlett-Packard into future success???or off a cliff.
Joining me are editors-in-chief Larry Dignan and Jason Hiner. Let's start big, gentlemen: What kind of company should HP be in the 21st century?
Jason Hiner
Yes she can
or
No way
Lawrence Dignan
Best Argument:
No way
Audience Favored:
No way (56%)
List of Events:
Opening Statements
Restoring business-as-usual is job one
Jason Hiner: Leo Apotheker had the wrong vision for HP and unnecessarily put the company in disarray. The HP board realized it had made a massive mistake and wisely decided to move quickly to restore order inside the company and give the public hope that HP can pull itself together.
Meg Whitman may not be the ideal CEO -- she doesn't have the enterprise IT chops -- but she was one the best options HP had available and she's smart enough to hire or retain the right lieutenants. She'll immediately bring stability and her arrival will give the company a (mostly) positive spin that it could use right now in the wake of the Mark Hurd scandal, the Apotheker disaster, and the overall missteps by the board.
It's a solid short-term move. Whether Whitman can create a vision to lead HP into the next decade remains to be seen. But, for now, restoring business-as-usual to the world's largest computer maker will be enough.
None of HP's problems are quick fixes
Larry Dignan: HP Executive Chairman Ray Lane said that Meg Whitman knows leadership, communications and IT. "Meg was both a large purchaser of information technology for the enterprise, and ran a company that depends on technology to deliver its service," said Lane.
If only it were that easy. Amazon's Jeff Bezos buys a ton of technology too, but I'm not so sure he could run a hardware and services company. Whitman's experience screams consumer, branding and strong leadership. Only that latter part applies to HP.
Whitman can stabilize HP, but will be hard-pressed to make it hum. She'll need the operational knowhow of key execs such as Dave Donatelli, who runs HP's enterprise server, storage and networking business. The catch is Donatelli has been passed over as CEO material twice. Whitman also has to figure out the services business.
She'll make some progress, but won't turn HP around completely. Perhaps she sets the stage to hand off to another CEO.
The Rebuttal
Closing Statements
She will quickly re-establish stability
Jason Hiner
In 2011 HP has become a company suddenly in disarray and surrounded by uncertainty. It didn't have to be this way. While the company came into the year with a number of long-term challenges it needed to figure out -- tablets, the cloud, the low-margin PC business -- the issues should have been handled much more gracefully and with less disruption to existing business than how CEO Leo Apotheker did it.
He had to go. He'd lost the confidence of employees and the public. Meg Whitman isn't a homerun as the new CEO. She doesn't have deep knowledge of the enterprise, where HP is likely to focus its business. But, she's a big name who will command respect and she knows how to inspire confidence in employees, investors, and customers. She will quickly re-establish stability at HP, and then it will be time to look ahead and figure out how HP can distinguish itself in the 21st century.
The clock will run out on Whitman
Lawrence Dignan
Meg Whitman may be the best CEO for HP at this juncture, but she has multiple challenges that may take a decade to fit. HP's challenge is that most of the low-hanging fruit has been plucked and now every one of its businesses have long-term secular and competitive issues. Whitman is a great communicator and branding expert and can win over HP's troops. However, in the long run the clock will run out on her. Ramping R&D, defining leapfrog moves and forming a multidecade vision is a lot to ask from a company that has had seven CEOs since 1999.
The best case is that Whitman stabilizes the patient and hands off to an internal candidate that can take the baton of continuity and vision. I see Whitman as potentially the first CEO of a broader relay for HP.
Larry edges out Jason: It's going to take more than one person to right this ship
Andrew Nusca
This may have been our closest debate yet. Both Jason and Larry made salient points about the good, the bad and the ugly for Hewlett-Packard. These are problems that affect every large company: a lot of innovation tucked into dark corners, but a lot of driftwood, too.
However, this debate was about whether Meg Whitman can turn the company around. And to that end, I think Larry edged out Jason: for a company with 300,000 employees and no direction, it's going to take more than one person -- and many years -- to right this ship.
Jason argued that "too much credit" has been given to the boards of directors of big companies. That may be true in some examples, but I think in HP's case it's clear who is -- to continue his sports metaphor -- choosing the quarterback. (NFL fans, consider the Vince Young-Kerry Collins debacle in Tennessee. Coordination often trumps raw talent.)
Meg Whitman has demonstrated her talent in spades, but the willingness of the rest of the company to change with her -- rise to the occasion, even -- is the deciding factor. Her failed gubernatorial run in California demonstrates that it's not always easy to change people's minds. If her biggest asset is commanding respect, as Jason suggested, she could easily and rapidly lose it. And then what?
In partnership with Ricoh Doc's final thoughts
DocMeg Whitman’s disastrous run for Governor of California may have steeled her for the difficult job she is about to undertake running Hewlett-Packard – she’ll certainly have to handle some defeats along the way.
But I worry less about her particular experience – we live in the era of the celebrity CEO, and Meg Whitman has celebrity down very well. Big customers will be eager to meet with her and won’t have any trouble telling her about the problems at HP and how they think she should fix them (and in many cases they will be right, as customers often are). More than anything she has to be a good listener. If she can listen carefully and resist over-correcting the big ship HP, she may have a stab at effective leadership.
I do worry a bit that just when HP could use someone a little more touchy-feely to help boost staff morale, they’ve chosen to bring in someone known for being a bit distant (despite her famous me-too cubicle at eBay). But then the CEO doesn’t have to be everyone’s best friend (and unlike running for governor, this isn’t a popularity contest) – they simply have to inspire the team by being decisive, insightful and right more than they are wrong. Meg Whitman has a reputation for being a good leader – let’s give her the chance to live up to the hype.
More from "The Great Debate"
There is nowhere but "up" for HP after a such an inept HP board and its chosen CEO. Hurd was at least certain of the direction of HP, but Apotheker was clueless, scrambling to save his job in the end, behaving like a desperate school janitor who got written up too many times. When the HP board gets together for all but 4hrs a year, screaming bloody murder at the quarterly stock report and just want a "magic bullit" CEO that can lead the company toward a strong product and services leadership position in a reasonable amount of time. The board behaves like they are on the golf couse for 364 days of the year and get upset when HP's earnings fall. They behave like the rich, aloof parents who drop their spoiled kid/ceo in private school and only check in when the principal calls. However, when one kid disappoints, the board merely adopts a new kid- so much for continuity.
@flyguy29
That is what I was thinking, ...but you said it so well!
I am thinking, "None of the above" since the board will undermine her, and then replace her, probably just far enough into the renovation process to make the house unlivable!
I actually feel sorry for her. She has been set up, and not in a good way!
(Just my opinion.)
That is what I was thinking, ...but you said it so well!
I am thinking, "None of the above" since the board will undermine her, and then replace her, probably just far enough into the renovation process to make the house unlivable!
I actually feel sorry for her. She has been set up, and not in a good way!
(Just my opinion.)
@flyguy29 I strongly disagree with you. Hurd only knew one thing, cutting costs. He drove the company down the drain by reducing R&D, reducing collaboration, reducing the fighting spirit of employees. This only mantra was cost reduction. Actually, HP's vision at that time was cost reduction, this is how bad it was. Leo at least tried to come up with a vision, you can agree or disagree with, but it's a clear and consise vision. He could not communicate it and was unable to portray his moves with the vision in mind. There you have a point. Now, I don't know where you got that info of the board meeting for 4 hours every quarter, but that is far, very far from the truth. So, all in all, I believe HP has a vision that makes sense, give them time to execute it.
@christian.verstraete@... can't disagree completely, but the nail in the coffin was the 180?? change of direction - those who survived the first cut were hit on the second stroke.
Only - where is HP vision now?
Only - where is HP vision now?
@Accompagnatrici That was well done. You should be doing this.
@Larry Dignan
Are you offering him your job? On the basis of saying "me too"?
Are you offering him your job? On the basis of saying "me too"?
I dont think so. Also HP needs a transformational leader not a transactional leader. Leo was never a transformational leader, but had an agenda for that. I see the same pattern here with Meg too. She is a great transactional leader, not a transformational leader. She has charisma, but how much board would allow her to succeed in using that charisma to transform HP into success is a big question.
I foresee Meg having the same issue as Leo: Leo was very successful at SAP, where he made a mint selling software and services. He gets the helm at HP and tries to use the winning formula: software and services. I wouldn't bet against Meg doing something similar and trying to fix HP by turning it into eBay.
Whoever takes the CEO spot can learn everything they need to know in 30 days - spend 15 of those days answering the phone for consumer tech support, and spend the other 15 answering the phone for server tech support. That'll provide Meg - or whoever - a better idea as to what's broken than any stack of reports the executive VP's will give her.
Joey
Whoever takes the CEO spot can learn everything they need to know in 30 days - spend 15 of those days answering the phone for consumer tech support, and spend the other 15 answering the phone for server tech support. That'll provide Meg - or whoever - a better idea as to what's broken than any stack of reports the executive VP's will give her.
Joey
@voyager529
are you serious? answering the t/s line *might* be indicative of 'what's broken' but it surely won't show how or if to fix it. nor does that cover all of HP's woes at this time.
would you check the air in your car tires for assurance that the engine is fine?
are you serious? answering the t/s line *might* be indicative of 'what's broken' but it surely won't show how or if to fix it. nor does that cover all of HP's woes at this time.
would you check the air in your car tires for assurance that the engine is fine?
@BitBanger_USA
It's not just fixing broken servers or RMAing a laptop with a cracked screen. It's directly interacting with the customers. It's about seeing what goes on in the trenches that doesn't make its way to a report anywhere and interacting with the people who Meg is entrusting with the power to keep and lose her customers. It's about keeping the mindset of "tens of thousands of former customers have sworn to never buy our products again, but today, I refuse to add another to their ranks". I didn't say she'd STAY there, as there ARE other places she needs to visit, and in fairness to your point perhaps phrasing it as "everything they need to know" is a bit overreaching, but the principle is still a good one - and a necessary one - if HP wants to get itself a positive image.
Joey
It's not just fixing broken servers or RMAing a laptop with a cracked screen. It's directly interacting with the customers. It's about seeing what goes on in the trenches that doesn't make its way to a report anywhere and interacting with the people who Meg is entrusting with the power to keep and lose her customers. It's about keeping the mindset of "tens of thousands of former customers have sworn to never buy our products again, but today, I refuse to add another to their ranks". I didn't say she'd STAY there, as there ARE other places she needs to visit, and in fairness to your point perhaps phrasing it as "everything they need to know" is a bit overreaching, but the principle is still a good one - and a necessary one - if HP wants to get itself a positive image.
Joey
@BitBanger_USA If Miss Whitman is intelligent enough, she might discover the pattern and understand the problem - this is always 80% of solving it.
Not sure if she will have the chance to get this first hand experience - middle-management will for sure prevent her to have a deeper look (seen before).
There is no need to waste your water on extinguishing the fire when your tires are flat in the middle of the desert - to pick up your metaphor.
I fear that HP's problem are deeper rooted and I am not optimistic that they'll have enough time to fix it. It is easy to fall behind in a race, but it very hard to catch up
Not sure if she will have the chance to get this first hand experience - middle-management will for sure prevent her to have a deeper look (seen before).
There is no need to waste your water on extinguishing the fire when your tires are flat in the middle of the desert - to pick up your metaphor.
I fear that HP's problem are deeper rooted and I am not optimistic that they'll have enough time to fix it. It is easy to fall behind in a race, but it very hard to catch up
As the local SF local paper said ..."Whitman's campaign for governor failed because voters were repulsed that she spent $150 million but communicated little about her platform. Yet HP is hiring Whitman for what the outgoing CEO lacked - communications skills." If she and Ray Lane are not undoing the board approved Apotheker strategy...then what will be different other than Ray Lane and Whitman co-directed a transition to a better place? The question is are they clear where to go and how to get there and weather the difficult economy...I wouldn't say "No way" but doubt that she is a Lou Gerstner in an ability to come into a large, rumbling, factionalized corp and make the kinds of strategic shifts needed and see result fast enough to escape the axe
@dbfarber
And it's aamazing that it does not bother anyone that she repeatedly lied publicly about her maids work status - perhaps a lack of ethics is a job requirement for CEO's!
And it's aamazing that it does not bother anyone that she repeatedly lied publicly about her maids work status - perhaps a lack of ethics is a job requirement for CEO's!
@alexh1@...
For public office it is a big deal; for a corporation position it is just par for the course.
For public office it is a big deal; for a corporation position it is just par for the course.
@sboverie,
Not true. HP employees see through Lane's machinations and already don't believe a word coming out of the mouths of Lane and Whitman.
Without the team feeling that mgmt is on the same side, the game is already lost.
Not true. HP employees see through Lane's machinations and already don't believe a word coming out of the mouths of Lane and Whitman.
Without the team feeling that mgmt is on the same side, the game is already lost.
This is a very tough job to walk into.
Long-term HP employees have seen the revolving door at the top and been unhappy for a very long time. Whitman will have to really listen to both customers and employees to figure out what's broken and where the vision needs to go -- possibly two very different things.
I can see why HP thinks being an enterprise vendor of software and services could lead to higher margins, but I doubt they could cut off half their revenue and buy and integrate enough software and services from whatever they get for it (remember, these are low margin businesses except for printer supplies and a few high-end printers) to still be a $125B company. Are they (and their shareholders) ready for that?
Long-term HP employees have seen the revolving door at the top and been unhappy for a very long time. Whitman will have to really listen to both customers and employees to figure out what's broken and where the vision needs to go -- possibly two very different things.
I can see why HP thinks being an enterprise vendor of software and services could lead to higher margins, but I doubt they could cut off half their revenue and buy and integrate enough software and services from whatever they get for it (remember, these are low margin businesses except for printer supplies and a few high-end printers) to still be a $125B company. Are they (and their shareholders) ready for that?
@amywohl
Only 30% of HP's business is consumer. It's a lot, but it's low margin. HP was enterprise before it was consumer. Enterprise is its core.
Only 30% of HP's business is consumer. It's a lot, but it's low margin. HP was enterprise before it was consumer. Enterprise is its core.
@amywohl Yes HP is focused on the enterprise and PCs and printers are low margin. The thing is the PCs and Printers are a good seed product to open the discussion to servers, storage, converged infrastructure, services, support, outsourcing, and yes software.
She might be able to pull it off if she fires EVP of Strategy and Technology Shane Robison. He's consistently missed the major shifts in technology and provided bad advice to HP's leadership. Moreover, there are strong rumors in the Silicon Valley that he's driving business unit CIOs to look elsewhere for job satisfaction.
If she doesn't dump Shane, HP shareholders will be looking at a stock price in the $10 range within the year.
If she doesn't dump Shane, HP shareholders will be looking at a stock price in the $10 range within the year.
@hryder666 Friggin WOWOWOWthOW! Not sure if you're in the same leaking HP boat as me, but you hit the nail on the head. Robison is a clueless idiot who has been in this role since Carleton bought Compuke in 2002. There isn't a day that goes by where he doesn't dazzle HP employees with his non-strategic approach.
Apotheker was on the war path, cleaning HP of clueless execs, and the light was just coming on for him about Robison.
Many problems with Apotheker, but he did see through the Hurd "Yes men" who didn't have a clue how to put the train back on the track. Will say that Apotheker's vision of spinning off PSG relied on the fact that Todd Bradley had no vision but was thought highly by the BoD. He should have stuck to his guns and fired Bradley for creating the low margin mess of PSG. (and others)
Apotheker was on the war path, cleaning HP of clueless execs, and the light was just coming on for him about Robison.
Many problems with Apotheker, but he did see through the Hurd "Yes men" who didn't have a clue how to put the train back on the track. Will say that Apotheker's vision of spinning off PSG relied on the fact that Todd Bradley had no vision but was thought highly by the BoD. He should have stuck to his guns and fired Bradley for creating the low margin mess of PSG. (and others)
Nope she will strip down HP and outsource everything and cut jobs so it looks like they have turned around. The Shareholders will be happy for a season then back to the same troubles the are having. Sorry HP engineers and managers and everyday folk hope you have some savings coz cuts are coming.......
There aren't many Lou Gerstner's out there. However, a strong leader would know that they need to use outside executive talent to "fix" trouble areas, and to hold each unit accountable for profitablilty. I believe she can do that!
Whitman has no interest in HP. It's just a photo op and an easy $100M. And she will be gone in a year.
No way. Carly Fiorina destroyed HP as a quality supplier, opting instead for mediocrity and volume.
The problem isn't with Meg Whitman but with corporations being run by absentee landlords, the stockholders. This stock is not owned by the founders (they're gone), but largely by institutional investors and the like. Jobs would say, cut down your SKUs, design things from the ground up, make model names mean something instead of sounding like a parts order from Inventory. Sell to consumers. In other words, imitate Apple, the only really successful electronics manufacturer in the world today.
She won't, I predict, because she has Establishment Business training. She needs to be an artist.
She won't, I predict, because she has Establishment Business training. She needs to be an artist.
HP took a wrong direction with Leo Apotheker, but Meg Whitman will care now about making HP profitable.
1) Itanium is dead. The future is virtualization and cloud services based on high scalability x86 architectures. HP has made a great parthnership with Red Hat Linux to offer Red Hat Linux Enterprise 6. This is a great threat to Oracle and IBM offerings.
2) HP has great support. HP has experienced professionals to do difficult migrations from previous services to a Virtual Environment and Cloud based data centres.
1) Itanium is dead. The future is virtualization and cloud services based on high scalability x86 architectures. HP has made a great parthnership with Red Hat Linux to offer Red Hat Linux Enterprise 6. This is a great threat to Oracle and IBM offerings.
2) HP has great support. HP has experienced professionals to do difficult migrations from previous services to a Virtual Environment and Cloud based data centres.
She can't even fix elections. She spent more of her own money on her candidacy than any other self-funded political candidate in U.S. history - and lost. To a former hippie.
In recent years HP has (unintentionally) offended just about every one of their customers, both enterprise and consumer - either by poor product or poor response to pleas for help. Add to that separation of PSG who have provided interface tools for the enterprise, whhich enterprise customers now must shop separately for. I believe a lot of this lies at the feet of the continued strategy to outsource. Admitted some recent compromise was made in that, but it may be too little, too late. A lot of damage needs to be outdone. Trust needs to be rebuilt at every customer level, and we all know by observing current White House occupant it can not be accomplished by verbalization, but must be learned by concrete actions.
Can it be fixed? Sure - will it be? Remains to be seen for now.
Can it be fixed? Sure - will it be? Remains to be seen for now.
No - The consumer business (Her Background) is another
Planet -- Virtually no comparison.
A very poor choice.
Planet -- Virtually no comparison.
A very poor choice.
As long as new CEOs continue to concentrate of technology and markets, HP is doomed. HP was built on the creativity, ingenuity and dedication of its employees, and six years after Typhoon Carly passed, employee morale at HP is still in ruins.
When someone steps in as CEO or any position really, in a company, they shouldn't consider making it like the last company they were in. It's a new business and a new challenge. If you lay back and rely on what you have done in the past, you are doing it all wrong. I think she's smart enough to see that, and not try to craft HP around her, but to drive HP forward. Yeah, I think she can do it.
HP has so many tech assets it has to survive. Get the right incentives and talent to manage it. Buy a big stake in a foundry. Hasten the mainstreaming of memsistor tech. Keep the PC division and bring back the HP67.
I think she is there as a scape goat to set the next guy up in a better position. She cannot, because they will not give her a fair chance.
There is still room for HP as a dominant enterprise player in both hardware and software. I would hate to see HP go away as an option on the hardware department. Our staff uses mostly HP products along with some Dell sprinkled here and there. I don't think the turn around will be instant but it will come, perhaps the company will never be the same again, but HP was broken and it has to be fixed.
I don't think she will, and I don't mean she's not a brilliant woman, what I say is HP lost the track a long time ago and now only a miracle could save it... I don't remember Meg can do miracles lol!
This is my opinion and my opinion only - about women & men CEOs
Great business leaders & CEOs know how to run & lead a company (if you get a bad apple & one does not throw the rotten apple.... well you all know what takes place for the rest of the apples, they quickly turn rotten).
So my point is, GREAT business leaders are allway looking out for the whole company /its staff/shareholders and they are the best team players. They have one focus, and to produce strong revenues. As we all know this is what shareholders want... $$$ with results that is the bottom line.
So forgive me for my boldness, and at the same time, please give her a chance & see what she pulls out of her cool hat.
Ultimately this is the bottom line "revenues - sales" and the best wicked gadget & devices in the market. Time will tell, if she was the right choice or not.
TO all the boys club networks:
Give her a chance.
Women have a harder time to fit in the old boys elite club.
I say this from my own past & current experiences. I am a women of color & women in business, and this gives me double strikes.
I have to fight 100 times harder to get my word in or get an investor interested in what I am doing, or even be invited to a conference or be acknowledge by a particular group. I say this purely from my own experiences. So dear COOL boys here, from a women's point of view - GIVE MEG a chance & in a year debate this again, or keep it alive - I can help you with your social media campaign if you wish, at least you will have a great debate, you all can be totally proud and than get MEG to come an speak during this debate in a few months down the road. So here we go - if you are interested in forming a cool online campaign, contact me here is my online TOPIC #women4tech (me) and see if we can one day invite MEG to join our debate... something to think about .
SO give her a chance and lets see if she just turns things around for HP or not, give her chance folks Best Ashie via spain @mymulticast -
Great business leaders & CEOs know how to run & lead a company (if you get a bad apple & one does not throw the rotten apple.... well you all know what takes place for the rest of the apples, they quickly turn rotten).
So my point is, GREAT business leaders are allway looking out for the whole company /its staff/shareholders and they are the best team players. They have one focus, and to produce strong revenues. As we all know this is what shareholders want... $$$ with results that is the bottom line.
So forgive me for my boldness, and at the same time, please give her a chance & see what she pulls out of her cool hat.
Ultimately this is the bottom line "revenues - sales" and the best wicked gadget & devices in the market. Time will tell, if she was the right choice or not.
TO all the boys club networks:
Give her a chance.
Women have a harder time to fit in the old boys elite club.
I say this from my own past & current experiences. I am a women of color & women in business, and this gives me double strikes.
I have to fight 100 times harder to get my word in or get an investor interested in what I am doing, or even be invited to a conference or be acknowledge by a particular group. I say this purely from my own experiences. So dear COOL boys here, from a women's point of view - GIVE MEG a chance & in a year debate this again, or keep it alive - I can help you with your social media campaign if you wish, at least you will have a great debate, you all can be totally proud and than get MEG to come an speak during this debate in a few months down the road. So here we go - if you are interested in forming a cool online campaign, contact me here is my online TOPIC #women4tech (me) and see if we can one day invite MEG to join our debate... something to think about .
SO give her a chance and lets see if she just turns things around for HP or not, give her chance folks Best Ashie via spain @mymulticast -
Wanted to let you all know I am not a tech geek what so ever, I work with all the tech geeks and have a blast, suggest please include women in your dialogues they bring you great luck I believe 
@mymulticast
Evangelist & Advocate for end user protection. Adovacy for best practice , whilst we all protect innocent children, women and youth on the internet from the current dangers of nasty intruders Support my campaign
@mymulticast Evangelist & Advocate for end user protection. Adovacy for best practice , whilst we all protect innocent children, women and youth on the internet from the current dangers of nasty intruders
Support my campaign 
Is it just too difficult for a company to be a giant in both consumer and enterprise computing?
Bill & Dave (Hewlett & Packard) must be turning over in their grave watching what has happened their formerly great company. As part of the HP Way they believed in addition to having goals of profits and revenue growth through satisfied customers, that their company should focus on fields of interest in which innovative, meaningful contributions were possible. Where has the innovation gone? What real original breakthroughs have been developed by the HP Labs since InkJet technology. The scope of future innovation has been severely narrowed since Carly Fiorina was hired as the first of many fleeting CEO's to divest HP of its Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis Group, Medical Group, Components Group, and Test & Measrement Group. I wish future CEO's success in bringing back what the HP Way really was meant to be in the memory of two great men.
Roy in Montreal
Roy in Montreal
I don't know Meg Whitman Nor do I care. What I do know is that HP doomed itself by not continuing the culture of Dave and Bill after they passed away. As long as they were alive the culture remained and HP honored and respected its employees for the contributions they made to the company. The core competency of HP was that evefry employee from janitor up did their best. I woke up in the morning with a smile and asked myself "what can I do to help my company be successful today?" Ya, I drank the water, heck I breathed it. Then Dave died. and instead of focusing on it's core competency; dedicated employees thinking up disruptive technologies - That's key! Hp decided it wanted to beat the market at somebody elses game. At the time it was Michael Dell. Since then, HP has bandied about trying to find itself with little success. Can Meg Whitman turn THAT around? Focus on the employees and make them want to help the company succeed? Probably not.
@mymulticast Excellent link! I agree 100% with Forbes. Read what Steve Wozniak says about HP in his book, iWoz. He loved them and would do just about anything for them.
I remember when HP was the premier manufacturer of scientific instrumentation and scientific calculators. Then the PC revolution happened and the rest is history. I won't buy another HP product, no, not even a printer.
I remember when HP was the premier manufacturer of scientific instrumentation and scientific calculators. Then the PC revolution happened and the rest is history. I won't buy another HP product, no, not even a printer.
Without radical change, HP will not begin to recover from the abuses of the board and Hurd. Perseverance is in short supply in most of the business world. HP is in "let's make a deal" mode. The quick fix might be quick, but it is unlikely to fix anything. The quick fix usually exacerbates existing problems and creates new ones.
It is hard to see HP making enough changes to set a new course without some large pieces of the ship breaking off.
It is hard to see HP making enough changes to set a new course without some large pieces of the ship breaking off.
Her challenge is integrating the Autonomy acquisition. With a thin R&D staff it will place great pressure on that remaining 3%. Can the rift with Oracle left by Apothaker be smoothed over to cover the transition? HP has always had great technical people, if they are directed coherently they may be able to pull it off.
Another issue has to be employee morale. Given that the board has repeatedly gone outside the company for the CEO spot, why would any of the top talented executives bother sticking around H-P, with the same board in place?
Can't wait to get my HP Touchpad, webOS 4.5 at the end of next year!!
With eBay, Whittman was given a clear stratregy to execute on. Also, quite a few of HP's board is new. How much of HP's past success and failures is HP Boards responsible for. Worded differently, who are these Executives and what do thier resumes look like.
Look at IBM, they have grown past Enterprise IT and IS.
Look at IBM products and services and some of thier clients
then look at some of thier job opportunities. Like one I found to hire engineers with Natural GAS experience. IBM is applying technology to real problems using Applied Sciences- that goes beyond IT and IS. THe IBM strategy is loud, clear, is all over commercials and in every media stream out there. Plus, they have deep taleent, R&D and solid offerings to back it up
One comment in the debate was about how HP sold off valuable IP with that spin-off of Agilent.
So before they decide to keep or spin off the PC, sell off WebOS IP, before they dive head first into Software and Services....Whats the strategy?
HP's board and Whitman must decide. HP needs to know what strategy to execute on.
Look at IBM, they have grown past Enterprise IT and IS.
Look at IBM products and services and some of thier clients
then look at some of thier job opportunities. Like one I found to hire engineers with Natural GAS experience. IBM is applying technology to real problems using Applied Sciences- that goes beyond IT and IS. THe IBM strategy is loud, clear, is all over commercials and in every media stream out there. Plus, they have deep taleent, R&D and solid offerings to back it up
One comment in the debate was about how HP sold off valuable IP with that spin-off of Agilent.
So before they decide to keep or spin off the PC, sell off WebOS IP, before they dive head first into Software and Services....Whats the strategy?
HP's board and Whitman must decide. HP needs to know what strategy to execute on.
Whitman is a poor listener. She has a high opinion of her people skills and a low opinion of others, including associates and run of the mill customers. She has no vision other than what she wants the mirror to tell her. Look at her - it's on her face and fake blond hair. I'm a Republican and was glad she lost to Jerry Brown.
I agree with this all the way. It always come back to Iran. We have to be able to control Iran in the future before something big happens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEUsfUTfvlg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEUsfUTfvlg
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Can PC makers survive in a post PC world?
May 29, 2012 | 7:00 AM PDT
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well done
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEUsfUTfvlg
Yes, She Can.
RE: Great Debate: Can Whitman turn around HP?
RE: Great Debate: Can Whitman turn around HP?
RE: Great Debate: Can Whitman turn around HP?