The HP story isn’t going away (note, that’s what happens when you spy on reporters, they get their fur up in a bunch). Some things happened yesterday, though. 1) She tried to shift blame elsewhere for using illegal methods. The New York Times gives her side of the story. 2) She called all the reporters who had been spied on and apologized. 3) HP’s CEO, Mark Hurd, sent a letter to employees which basically said its rules and ethics’ codes had been broken.
A few things. I doubt the board will vote her off. Why not? Well, because of she goes they know they’ll be kicked out too. This whole board doesn’t pass the smell test. I’m not even in Silicon Valley right now and I can smell the stench coming over the Santa Cruz mountains.
Second, why didn’t she call and apologize as soon as she realized the methods that had been used? Rule of PR, those who own the negative get to control it the most. By not going public with what she did FIRST she let Tom control all the PR. I don’t know who to believe, but I’ll believe the guy who brought this to the public light first far more than I’ll believe the person who didn’t bring it out.
It’s pretty clear that there were legal questions. After all, why would HP’s lawyers call an outside law firm and ask for advice on the legality of this? (That lawyer, one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful, is now saying he wasn’t presented with all of the evidence).
Rob Hyndman has a good recap of yesterday’s events.
So, here’s the bottom line. This thing doesn’t pass the smell test. Patricia, do the respectable thing, stand up and take responsibility. That’s what those of us who are in leadership positions have to do sometimes, even if it isn’t completely our fault.
But, even if she goes, this whole board smells. I guess they are gonna make the shareholders make the hard decisions. Unfortunately shareholders only care whether the company is making them money or not, not whether the board is ethical, nice, or doesn’t smell.
It’s a sad day for the industry. I’m gonna go out today with friends and family and head to the beach where I hope the breeze blows the smell back over the hill.
UPDATE: here’s why I say it smells. Even my seventh grader knows there’s something smelly about looking at people’s phone records. Patricia Dunn, when she was presented the evidence about the leaker, had to have seen that phone records were involved. Note that she didn’t stop and say “how did you get these?” She should have stopped the investigation at that point. Everyone who watches TV courtrooms knows that you aren’t allowed to use evidence that’s gained in illegal ways. And any chairperson who says that looking at phone records or other personal information isn’t illegal isn’t the kind of chair we should allow in a position of power. Also, anyone who doesn’t understand the HUGE difference between a lie detector test and a set of phone records SHOULD NOT BE IN A POSITION OF POWER IN A COMPANY THAT HAS POWER OVER OTHER PEOPLE’S PRIVACY. She might not be a criminal (I’ll leave that for the Attorney General to figure out) but she sure isn’t smart enough to be on a board of directors. Sorry, she’s gotta go. And same with this whole board.
Scobleizer 
“Sorry, she’s gotta go.” – yah to that
“And same with this whole board.” – nay to that !!
The board is elected by the shareholders..
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“Sorry, she’s gotta go.” – yah to that
“And same with this whole board.” – nay to that !!
The board is elected by the shareholders..
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H-P board to discuss Chairman Dunn’s fate:
“The board of Hewlett-Packard Co. will hold a phone conference on Sunday to decide the fate of Chairwoman Patricia Dunn” http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B584F7236%2D946E%2D4F78%2DA110%2DD653E769E1BB%7D&dist=rss&siteid=mktw&rss=1
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H-P board to discuss Chairman Dunn’s fate:
“The board of Hewlett-Packard Co. will hold a phone conference on Sunday to decide the fate of Chairwoman Patricia Dunn” http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B584F7236%2D946E%2D4F78%2DA110%2DD653E769E1BB%7D&dist=rss&siteid=mktw&rss=1
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/pd: well, this whole board is complicit.
When you have a lack of ethics the stench spreads over more than one person.
Personally HP would be well served by finding a new board to lead it.
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/pd: well, this whole board is complicit.
When you have a lack of ethics the stench spreads over more than one person.
Personally HP would be well served by finding a new board to lead it.
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“Even my seventh grader knows there’s something smelly about looking at people’s phone records. Patricia Dunn, when she was presented the evidence about the leaker, had to have seen that phone records were involved.”
If she resigns, the entire board needs to resign. They’re all culpable.
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“Even my seventh grader knows there’s something smelly about looking at people’s phone records. Patricia Dunn, when she was presented the evidence about the leaker, had to have seen that phone records were involved.”
If she resigns, the entire board needs to resign. They’re all culpable.
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Damn, I’m agreeing with Shelley Powers. Now you know just how bad this board’s actions are.
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Damn, I’m agreeing with Shelley Powers. Now you know just how bad this board’s actions are.
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ER a phone conference – FFS – The Board is still in denial here.
This is one of the most important board meetings at HP in the last few years and they arnt meeting in meatspace.
Interesting that the chair has admited to employees – sounds like she’s on the way out.
Rgds Maurice
ps your right about the board there has to be a major clearing out.
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ER a phone conference – FFS – The Board is still in denial here.
This is one of the most important board meetings at HP in the last few years and they arnt meeting in meatspace.
Interesting that the chair has admited to employees – sounds like she’s on the way out.
Rgds Maurice
ps your right about the board there has to be a major clearing out.
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I really don’t think she’s going to resign. It means much more than a position; she represents the struggle for women to make it to the top. If she resigns, that leaves Meg Whitman of eBay alone…
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I really don’t think she’s going to resign. It means much more than a position; she represents the struggle for women to make it to the top. If she resigns, that leaves Meg Whitman of eBay alone…
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I’m thinking of a completely non-silicon valley situation with a board of directors in complete denial – seems to me this will be the same. They won’t do the right thing, because at a minimum, that would be an admission they were wrong, and at the most, they (or some of them) were involved in unethical behavior. Certainly not a surprise in big business, but bad nonetheless.
Hopefully I’m wrong, Dunn will be Done, and eventually the board of directors will receive the purging it deserves.
What amazes me is how stupid and shortsighted some of these people who are supposedly sophisticated business people can be. I have a deep, unshakable cynicism regarding the competence of the people getting huge salaries to lead these corporations, and this kind of thing doesn’t help me change my mind any.
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I’m thinking of a completely non-silicon valley situation with a board of directors in complete denial – seems to me this will be the same. They won’t do the right thing, because at a minimum, that would be an admission they were wrong, and at the most, they (or some of them) were involved in unethical behavior. Certainly not a surprise in big business, but bad nonetheless.
Hopefully I’m wrong, Dunn will be Done, and eventually the board of directors will receive the purging it deserves.
What amazes me is how stupid and shortsighted some of these people who are supposedly sophisticated business people can be. I have a deep, unshakable cynicism regarding the competence of the people getting huge salaries to lead these corporations, and this kind of thing doesn’t help me change my mind any.
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oh just noticed that Partica Dunn is book to appear at conference spaeking on corporate governance.
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2006/09/08/patricia_dunn_l.html
I think you sould take a camera crew and door step her at that conference.
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oh just noticed that Partica Dunn is book to appear at conference spaeking on corporate governance.
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2006/09/08/patricia_dunn_l.html
I think you sould take a camera crew and door step her at that conference.
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Pat Dunn has been a go-to fixer in the corporate governance circle for several years now and one would think she fully understands the need for every action to survive a reading on the front page of business papers. She’s having her reading now.
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Pat Dunn has been a go-to fixer in the corporate governance circle for several years now and one would think she fully understands the need for every action to survive a reading on the front page of business papers. She’s having her reading now.
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I think anyone who tries to feed us the bullshit that the fraud of impersonation can be reframed as some lesser transgression called “pretexting” perhaps deserves to be sent to Guantanamo and subjected to “waterboarding” and other such fun-sounding and equally accurately named diversions.
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I think anyone who tries to feed us the bullshit that the fraud of impersonation can be reframed as some lesser transgression called “pretexting” perhaps deserves to be sent to Guantanamo and subjected to “waterboarding” and other such fun-sounding and equally accurately named diversions.
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Like my great-grandfather would always say “Two wrongs don’t make a right but it’s a good start.”
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Like my great-grandfather would always say “Two wrongs don’t make a right but it’s a good start.”
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Dunn says, “The chairman is not a unilateral power position. I am a servant to the board.”
She’s just a servant to the board? Then she should be getting minimum wage and no more.
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Dunn says, “The chairman is not a unilateral power position. I am a servant to the board.”
She’s just a servant to the board? Then she should be getting minimum wage and no more.
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Don Park: this was a totally over-the-top action that calls for a totally-over-the-top reaction.
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Don Park: this was a totally over-the-top action that calls for a totally-over-the-top reaction.
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HP Board lacks integrity
The spying scandal is a sorry comedown for a company that HAD a reputation for excellence and integrity.
The board’s actions have been more of the CYA variety than of truthfulness.
* WHAT PHONE RECORDS? The board played dumb when they realized that directors’ phone records were used in the leak investigation. No one asked, “How did we get these records?”
* BOARD MEMBER RESIGNED FOR “PERSONAL REASONS”: Perkins resigned in May. HP resisted proper reporting to the SEC of the reasons for Perkins’ resignation until the past few days.
* STONEWALLING: Dunn and Hurd have made only weak apologies. Dunn has been far more strident about tracing the leaks from an individual than about the corporate breech of integrity in fraudulent investigations.
* PROTECTING CRIMINALS: HP has refused to identify the private investigation firm or the third party investigators who are suspected of doing the pretexting.
* WEAK APPEASEMENT: Recent announcement of Board changes are weak.
1. Dunn remains chair for 4 MONTHS.
2. She remains on the Board.
3. She will be replaced by Mark Hurd, who is also CEO and President.
4. The Board will backtracking on its new rule, that the Chair and CEO would be different people. This weakens HP’s Corporate Governance.
If the Board had any integrity, it would have acted…
* immediately, upon learning of wrong doing
* without coverup, without excuses
* without compromise to the offenders
The Board must demand Dunn’s resignation from the Board. (There will be more legal fallout for HP if she remains, than if she leaves and HP cooperates fully with the California State, Federal, Congressional, SEC and FBI investigations).
The Board needs to have a non-executive Chair. There needs to be a check on the CEO.
The Board must make a public statement, repudiating in the strongest terms, the tactics used by its private investigators, and reiterating its stand on corporate integrity.
The Board must take ACTION to convince the business and investment community that it is determined to regain the mantle of integrity and excellence it once had under Hewlett and Packard.
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HP Board lacks integrity
The spying scandal is a sorry comedown for a company that HAD a reputation for excellence and integrity.
The board’s actions have been more of the CYA variety than of truthfulness.
* WHAT PHONE RECORDS? The board played dumb when they realized that directors’ phone records were used in the leak investigation. No one asked, “How did we get these records?”
* BOARD MEMBER RESIGNED FOR “PERSONAL REASONS”: Perkins resigned in May. HP resisted proper reporting to the SEC of the reasons for Perkins’ resignation until the past few days.
* STONEWALLING: Dunn and Hurd have made only weak apologies. Dunn has been far more strident about tracing the leaks from an individual than about the corporate breech of integrity in fraudulent investigations.
* PROTECTING CRIMINALS: HP has refused to identify the private investigation firm or the third party investigators who are suspected of doing the pretexting.
* WEAK APPEASEMENT: Recent announcement of Board changes are weak.
1. Dunn remains chair for 4 MONTHS.
2. She remains on the Board.
3. She will be replaced by Mark Hurd, who is also CEO and President.
4. The Board will backtracking on its new rule, that the Chair and CEO would be different people. This weakens HP’s Corporate Governance.
If the Board had any integrity, it would have acted…
* immediately, upon learning of wrong doing
* without coverup, without excuses
* without compromise to the offenders
The Board must demand Dunn’s resignation from the Board. (There will be more legal fallout for HP if she remains, than if she leaves and HP cooperates fully with the California State, Federal, Congressional, SEC and FBI investigations).
The Board needs to have a non-executive Chair. There needs to be a check on the CEO.
The Board must make a public statement, repudiating in the strongest terms, the tactics used by its private investigators, and reiterating its stand on corporate integrity.
The Board must take ACTION to convince the business and investment community that it is determined to regain the mantle of integrity and excellence it once had under Hewlett and Packard.
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