Within moments of its arrival, I was reading the memoir of what will arguably be a very hot topic in the coming weeks. I wasn't disappointed. This book is her turn to talk, and from my perspective she does a fine job of framing the past and the effect she had on HP. Even more importantly she shows the importance of being earnest.
To many readers, this book will be dismissed as simply an opportunity for Fiorina to take undue credit for the positive financial results at HP since her firing. In baseball, the relief pitcher gets credited with the save if, by the prescribed ending of the game, they erased the deficit. In business, there isn't a prescribed ending. Companies, if they manage to avoid bankruptcy, don't have endings. They have curves, ups and downs mixed with flat line steady years. When Fiorina, the relief pitcher, came in the team was in a deficit. Under Fiorina, a number of initiatives drove the steady rise of HP stock since mid-2004. It’s been up to Mark Hurd, current CEO to continue the winning streak.
The press and investors like to talk about leadership but in reality many don't like what it really means. Leadership means saying no as well as yes. Critics can remember every time a leader said no to an idea. Fiorina recounts a number of instances where she was told, not asked, to make a choice she didn't agree with, but she held her ground and said no. The real lesson in her book is how people reacted to her saying no. And I think it was all her "nos" that ultimately got her fired. But she also said yes. For example, the Compaq acquisition which interestingly was not her idea. She embraced it only after much discussion with the board.
For the full review go to http://www.aipmm.com and click on Book Reviews.
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