So what happens now?
The resignation of Patricia Dunn as chair at H-P
does not, cannot, and should not end the matter. Dunn is leaving in January because she spied on her directors in order to find out who leaked a rather mundane C|Net story in January.
Mark Hurd (right) who was hired just last year to replace Carly Fiorina, is now going to be both chairman and CEO.
He needs some help. But where is he to get it?
Your directors are your most trusted advisors. They represent
continuity, wisdom, and a vital alternative viewpoint. The larger the
company, the more vital such people are.
H-P has tossed aside two of the best in this scandal. The
corporate and industry knowledge of Jay Keyworth (the leaker, who was fired) and Tony Perkins (who objected to the investigation and quit) is
irreplaceable. Keyworth had been on the board longer than anyone.
Perkins is a Silicon Valley legend with enormous strategic sense.
A Newsweek cover story on the matter focuses on the personal
relationship between Dunn and Perkins.
That’s not the right focus. This is not an episode of Dynasty. Besides, both are now gone. And the
idea that only important people matter is a product of our
star-bedazzled age. Hopefully that age will end soon, because the
people at the top aren’t the only ones who matter, not by a long
shot.
The people who matter are up and down the chain of command.
They’re the salesmen and the engineers, the whole kit-and-kaboodle of
them.
With Dunn now out, Hurd has the tough job of replacing Perkins and
Keyworth. Who can he get? Who will he get? What will they bring to
the board? From where will Hurd – whose forte is operations – get
his strategic sense? Change comes ever-faster in the tech business,
and Hurd ‘s strategic acumen is unproven.
H-P is at a crossroads, as it always is. So many of the products
it makes are commodities, foreign-made. So many of its products are
dependent on other vendors to make work. Does H-P see itself five
years from now as a manufacturer, a services outfit, a system
integrator? What? And what will it take to get from here to there in
a leadership position?
Dunn doesn’t know. Perkins might. A few others, like John Doerr
(who works with Perkins) might know, too, and Doerr could act as a bridge back
to Perkins. At minimum, he might recommend someone.
That’s who to call first. .
