Here's my takeaway:
A. Jodie Fisher (an HP contractor & former reality show "star") submitted her sexual harrassment complaint to the HP Board of Directors, and then later proclaimed that she didn't mean for Hurd to lose his job. So, Jodie, you must have just been going for a financial settlement, right? Puh-leese!
B. In his 5 years at HP Hurd had driven important metrics up, including annual revenue, profit and stock price. Four months ago, Wonder-Boy Hurd was on the cover of Fortune magazine. Yet he was forced to resign because he "fudged" on expense reports, obfuscating the fact that he had taken Ms. Fisher to dinner on HP's dime. Unseat a "successful" CEO because of a few hundred dollars (+/-) of falsification on his expenses? Hmmm.C. There is proof of unrest (a mild word, really) among HP employees. The internet is a wonderful thing - but the pendulum swings both ways. Proof can be found at: http://fuckyoumarkhurd.com/. Ouch.
D. The NY Times reported that HP's Board of Directors neither trusted Hurd nor had faith in his leadership.
How was a "successful" Mark Hurd forced out, even though he was absolved of sexual harrassment charges? It boils down to two things. (1) Cheating on his expense account was a quantifiable violation of corporate policy, and (2) Hurd failed to cultivate positive relationships with his Board of Directors and even his employees.
I don't say this very often... but, "I told you so." Re-read these blogs:
Hurd stole from the company:
Hurd failed to be a white collar hero:
Hurd failed to lead with economic recovery and employees in mind:
I agree. Being successful in business usually boils down to communications and relationships. You can't be successful by yourself. And yet we allow people like Hurd to jump from one organization to another producing short-term improvements and hailing their success and skill. Half of the fault lies with Mark Hurd - the other half with the businesses who reward short-term thinking and behavior. We can punish and/or exile the individuals like Hurd, but nothing will change until corporate perspective is tuned to long-term and providing for not only investors, but employees. What is the organization you've heard of that does this? I'd like to work there.
ReplyDeleteNew details...Jodie Fisher received a settlement. Geesh!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnbc.com/id/38749611