Perfect Enough: Carly Fiorina and the Reinvention of Hewlett Packard

Carly Fiorina went from being the most powerful female CEO to out of a job over her performance at HP. The conflict of culture at HP forced her out of her job over the merger of COMPAQ. The companies were unable to find synergy and the merger was poorly executed. This is a fair account of all participants and in the end comes down with the blame on Carly trying to be too sneaky and HP being to inflexible to embrace the future and realize their computers were useless. The branding dilution argument was very interesting. Although this merger is long over this is a useful and instructive book in corporate finance.

As I started to read this book, I anticipated a tainted Carly story. True it did give a positive review of Carly's leadership which may have been a bit too rosey, but it gave a glimpse into the manifestation of business growth pains. The factors of HP's reinvention are a growing concern within the culture of all great engineering environments within the Valley. The change in global business strategies have demanded a change, yet it is a very difficult strain on a healthy culture to be railroaded into corporate consolidation. In fairness to Carly, one person can't perform miracles in a culture that is positive, yet not economically feasible within the current business times. Channeling passion into action is a tough thing to accomplish. I enjoyed the audio version of this book and was captivated by the narrator. I would highly suggest this to anyone who has been caught in the middle of change management within an engineering culture. Kudos to George Anders for capturing this emotional rollercoaster.

This is an excellent account of a world class leader who showed courage and conviction in the face of incredible prejudice and adversity and is returning HP to greatness again. Anders tells a balanced story and avoids the sensationalism and cheap shots that other writers have taken at Ms. Fiorina. In this fine book, there are lessons to be learned for all who wish to lead.

This book gives comprehensive, balanced treatment to the storied founding and meteoric growth of Hewlett-Packard and its leaders. For those of us who have never worked at HP, we get a clear sense for what it was like when Bill and Dave ran the place. We also come to understand the challenges HP faced as it grew, utlimately becoming, to some degree, a victim of its own success. There is drama all along the way. It is fascinating to watch the process of the board selecting Carly Fiorina as CEO. There is more drama as one watches her predecessor, Lewis Platt, struggle while watching HP change from "old" to "new." Some of the book's most interesting perspective relates to the personalities involved in managing and governing HP, from family members running foundations controlling large blocks of HP stock, to board members running large businesses in their own right, to reluctant heroes such as Dick Hackborn, who served as a mentor to Carly Fiorina and became HP's chairman for a time. While the background on the family foundations is excessive, we come to know intimately the cast of characters in the HP-Compaq drama. Whether you supported the HP-Compaq merger or not, it is clear that everyone involved was passionate about his or her cause. The greatest insights the book offers relate to leadership -- Carly Fiorina's relentless persistence in the face of brutal adversity; the power of passionate belief in one's mission; the unswerving support of all but one HP board member of the HP-Compaq deal; and the realization that organizational change can indeed be wrenching. Overall, a well-documented, highly entertaining read.

This is a great read. Anders is a wonderful author who puts you in the middle of the action. He provides deep character development so you really feel you understand the behavior of all the major players in the HP/Compaq story. Buy it!