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September 12, 2006
HP Splits the Boardroom Baby
In a nonsensical (but all too typical) boardroom compromise, HP has made a decision about chair Patricia Dunn:- HP CEO Mark Hurd will take over as chair in January, thus eliminating HP's current separation of CEO and board chair.
- Ms. Dunn will stay on as a board member, thus keeping a person who presided over a wayward investigation that now has Federal and State officials clamoring for more information.
"Unfortunately, the investigation, which was conducted with third
parties, included certain inappropriate techniques. These went beyond
what we understood them to be, and I apologize that they were
employed."
And then here is HP CEO Mark Hurd:
"I am taking action to ensure that inappropriate investigative techniques will not be employed again. They have no place in HP."
So, Ms. Dunn oversaw -- she apologized after all -- investigative techniques that both she and Hurd conceded were inappropriate, and yet she is remaining on the HP board. I bet the boardroom discussions that hacked together this political decision were right out of "Yes, Prime Minister".
As an aside, l love how HP brings a bogeyman into the press release. In talking about the leaks investigation, Dunn is quoted as saying:
These leaks had the potential to affect not only the stock price of HP but also that of other publicly traded companies.
We did this for all of you, she's seemingly saying. How lovely.
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This is BS. I think I can honestly predict that bloggers won't let this story go. Whenever events like this happen and the response it to throw a small and unworthy bone to the interested parties, bloggers have shown themselves to be the pitbulls of journalism. This won't go away as a result of this.
John, I think you are right on when you wrote, "This is idiotic.". Although I might be more diplomatic. I think HP customers may or may not feel like you and stop buying (which has short term impact). What worries me much more is the long term image of HP in the eyes of the *human capital* that may get put off from working for HP for good. If the smart people decide it makes sense to work for anyone else but HP, that will sure make a sad situation worst.
Cheetah, even I have posted a total of six blog entries about this HP mess since Sept 6, with the latest entry entitled,
"HP’s leak scandal is kinda, sorta, almost but not really forcing chair Patricia Dunn to step down"
but I am being very realistic. I don't think the HP board, especially Ms. Patricia Dunn personally will give a Shiitake of what the bloggers are saying. I view myself as just another "nobody" but, like in an election, I will darn sure make my own voice/vote heard.
Cheetah, I agree with you that this issue may not go away for the bloggers (for a while). But bloggers are like other "journalists", when we see "shiny objects" (as Jon Stewart would say) appearing elsewhere, our attentions can easily be moved on to something else. Will you be blogging about this HP mess everyday until Ms. Dunn resign even when there are no new "news"? I know I won't even I think Ms. Dunn should go now.
Just my 2 cents,
Kempton
Sir Richard: Standard Foreign Office response in a time of crisis. In Stage One we say that nothing is going to happen.
Sir Humphrey: Stage Two, we say something may be going to happen but we should do nothing about it.
Sir Richard: Stage Three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there's nothing we can do.
Sir Humphrey: Stage Four, we say maybe there is something we could have done, but it's too late now.
Has there been a better political satire on television?
This is idiotic. HP had the chance to renew itself in the eyes of customers and potential customers.
As a now *former* customer of HP, I can plainly state that this episode has caused me to cast-off HP into the group of companies with whom I will no longer do business.
Ethical corporate conduct is just as important as producing high-quality products. To see a board that is so disconnected from this reality is both amazing AND amusing.
Unbelievably, HPQ is up .19 at the time of this posting. Does the broader market yet know about this Solomonian decision?