Leo Apotheker's Last Memo to HP Staff

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back_by_demand

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Over the past year, we were tasked with developing a strategic vision for HP and I know we have made important contributions to the company’s future.
Yeah, you have dropped HP to the level of junk bonds
Dont let the door hit you in the ass on the way out
 

doive1231

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The problem with HP is that it annoys its customers with over complication and not giving us what we want. Look at their website, it's bonkers.

Annoying your customers=bad.
 

livebriand

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Spinning off the pc business is a bad idea. It's low profit, but it's quite stable - sure there's the tablet fad - but PCs will still be around for a long time. People actually need to work you know. And getting rid of the palm stuff - seriously, after they just spent a bunch of money on that they are getting rid of it? Give me a break.
 

BadCommand

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Classy departure by a man whom I didn't think was the right fit for HP, but then again who is.

Maybe Yahoo's ex-CEO Bartz could learn a thing or 2 from Apotheker on how to suck it in and move on.

Now HP's Board needs to relieve themselves of their respective duties.
 

legacy7955

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Bottom line is that these Ivory Tower brass hats have become so self centered that they almost completely IGNORE the LONG TERM HEALTH of organizations they work for .....YES THESE CEO/BoD DO NOT OWN THE COMPANY ! THEY ARE EMPLOYEES JUST LIKE THE REST!

To think that this highly paid guy Mr. Apotheker would be so ignorant as to destroy a very stable and viable if not the highest profit business at HP (PSG/PC) , not to mention all the customers that would be affected say VOLUMES about how disconnected these elite corporate types are from reality.


That being said I have a hard time believing that an HP "internal" choice for CEO would have been any worse than the jokes that have been heading it since the late 90s.
 

oneblackened

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[citation][nom]legacy7955[/nom]Bottom line is that these Ivory Tower brass hats have become so self centered that they almost completely IGNORE the LONG TERM HEALTH of organizations they work for .....YES THESE CEO/BoD DO NOT OWN THE COMPANY ! THEY ARE EMPLOYEES JUST LIKE THE REST!To think that this highly paid guy Mr. Apotheker would be so ignorant as to destroy a very stable and viable if not the highest profit business at HP (PSG/PC) , not to mention all the customers that would be affected say VOLUMES about how disconnected these elite corporate types are from reality. That being said I have a hard time believing that an HP "internal" choice for CEO would have been any worse than the jokes that have been heading it since the late 90s.[/citation]
PSG is a very low margin business - 5% on a good day.
 

legacy7955

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Yes PSG is a low margin business, BUT it IS profitable and HP rules the roost at it. It is the stable rock that HP should use as its foundation, not to mention that as a legacy business it gets HP a lot of exposure around the world and makes them an instantly recognizable name in technology which can also translate to other opportunities. The PC business is their ambassador, if you like, for the entire organization and it has been a darn good one.
 

Thunderfox

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Spend six weeks designing a tablet to compete with an iProduct, then shut down an entire arm of your company when your halfass product does not outsell the market leader. That kind of schizophrenia cannot be called leadership. They need to make a plan and stick to it, and actually try to be good at something, even if it takes some time to achieve.
 

shqtth

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even if its only 5% margin, they build brand name, and that customer might buy other HP products, and also, the can pre-install select software as well as links and brower and have an effect on market. There is an advantage to having a big customer base. Also since they have a brand name, it helps it to sell other products such as servers and/other software solutions they may provide in the future. Also, there is extended warrenty they sell. So even if the PC is low margin, it leds to other sales. ANd since they are big they are able to borrow money if needed for other ventures, and they can buy in volume/parts for huge discounts. A lot of resouces are at their command. THe volume discounts and manufactor agreements may hrelp their other products suck as servers. So one effects another.
 

cookoy

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i just had to read LA's parting memo after reading the last couple lines of the article that he's confident HP will continue to "BURN" brightly. yup, good he's leaving a burning house and getting 25M severance for his efforts.
 

legacy7955

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[citation][nom]cookoy[/nom]i just had to read LA's parting memo after reading the last couple lines of the article that he's confident HP will continue to "BURN" brightly. yup, good he's leaving a burning house and getting 25M severance for his efforts.[/citation]

Yep the elite love to communicate with esoteric messages.

Amazing how these elite CEOs who usually only get the job due to "connections" can not only not perform BUT actually create more serious damage and destruction and still get REWARDED for their folly. The rest of us ordinary employees would be promptly fired for the same incompetence at any job.
 

lamorpa

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One of the best things to do would be to eliminate the HP Department for Half-Assed Ergonomic Designs. I know they've been getting a lot of product out.
 

svdb

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Leo was a fall-guy.
The HP board of directors hired him, but without even interviewing him.
Leo did what the board told him to do.
Meg announced she'd just stick with "Leo's plans" because she was on the board when Leo was hired and because "Leo's plan" was in fact her plan in the first place.

CEO's life at HP is getting shorter and shorter:
John Young : 14 years (1978-1992)
Lew Platt : 7 years (1992-1999)
Carly Fiorina : 6 years (1999-2005)
Mark Hurd : 5 years (2005-2010)
Leo Apotheker : 11 months
 
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