from my blog
Two Hurds Make a Turd
In case you're wondering why I haven't written a new post in the last 6 weeks, the answer is twofold: first, I've been out west for the past 6 weeks enjoying a life without humidity and second, I really had nothing interesting to say. That all changed this past week when I read that Mark Hurd had been forced to resign from his spot as the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, and event which I believe summarizes all that is wrong with the state of our economy.
Let's look at the facts. To being with, by all accounts Mark Hurd must be considered one of the finest managers in the world. Throughout his career, he has done nothing but create shareholder value and improve the businesses he has run. Second, during his reign at HP, he managed to instill momentum back into the company, streamline its operations, and create about $50 billion worth of shareholder value - not bad for a few years work. Third, because of $20,000 worth of inappropriate expenses, the company has now lost roughly $10 billion in market cap and has had to hand over an additional $35 million in severance, making this the single worst investment in the history of history. And finally, the public relations disaster that HP feared, has now come to life tenfold as the entire world is questioning the intelligence of a board that would remove such a talented manager over an "affair" that apparently was high on infatuation and low on sex. Not only did HP's independent investigation conclude that he did not sexually harass Jodie Fisher, but she even came out days later saying she had the utmost respect for Mark, and couldn't believe he was forced to resign over the matter.
Now I clearly don't have all of the facts, and it's hard not to respect HP as a company and their board members whom all have storied careers, (and if Mark Hurd really did sexually harass Jodie Fisher then he should have been asked to resign), but in my humble, midwest opinion, they ...
