I've deliberately stayed away from all the hoo-hah about what may or may not have transpired in the halls of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) in the wake of HP-gate (board spying on itself, and snooping on reporters in the process). Not because of any particular adoration of HP, but because I was waiting to see if/how their PR operatives handled this piece of radioactivity.
The good news is that there really are no dire brand implications to this, at least not in the short haul. People aren't going to boycott good products to express their disdain for corporate governance, are they? Hell, no. And HP, to my knowledge, is still a reasonably good place to work, relative to other brands in the Valley. However: in the long run, distractions such as this can cause CEOs to get distracted and take their eyes off the ball. Still, I would think CEO Mark Hurd is sufficiently disciplined to weather this one. As for all the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands about sullying the reputation of the HP way, I'm a cynic. Back in the day, when I worked with people out of Intel, National Semi (NSM), and HP, you always knew where the Intel and National guys were coming from. Not so with the people from HP. They were collegial and polite and a never in-your-face but unmistakably inclined towards a passive-aggressiveness totally unknown to the rough-edged crowd from the other companies. I'd much rather pound a beer with a guy from INTC who'd tell me off to my face, than I would sip Chardonnay with some ex-HP person who'd stick a letter-opener in my back at the slightest opportunity. But, hey, that's just me.
The good news is that there really are no dire brand implications to this, at least not in the short haul. People aren't going to boycott good products to express their disdain for corporate governance, are they? Hell, no. And HP, to my knowledge, is still a reasonably good place to work, relative to other brands in the Valley. However: in the long run, distractions such as this can cause CEOs to get distracted and take their eyes off the ball. Still, I would think CEO Mark Hurd is sufficiently disciplined to weather this one. As for all the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands about sullying the reputation of the HP way, I'm a cynic. Back in the day, when I worked with people out of Intel, National Semi (NSM), and HP, you always knew where the Intel and National guys were coming from. Not so with the people from HP. They were collegial and polite and a never in-your-face but unmistakably inclined towards a passive-aggressiveness totally unknown to the rough-edged crowd from the other companies. I'd much rather pound a beer with a guy from INTC who'd tell me off to my face, than I would sip Chardonnay with some ex-HP person who'd stick a letter-opener in my back at the slightest opportunity. But, hey, that's just me.
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