PERFECT ENOUGH (The Female CEO of HP)

Author: George Anders
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Features: From Publishers Weekly In late 2001, Hewlett-Packard shareholders were divided over a proposed buyout of computer manufacturer Compaq. Carly Fiorina, who'd been appointed HP's CEO two years earlier, had convinced most of the directors that the merger was necessary in order for the firm to remain competitive. But Walter Hewlett, son of one of the company's founders, came to believe the move was against everything the "HP Way" stood for. He drummed up support and turned the vote over the merger into a test of Fiorina's leadership. Anders, a Fast Company editor, uses this battle as the centerpiece of his account, but the book's subtitle is largely a misnomer. Although Anders recounts Fiorina's transformation from a talented executive at Lucent Technologies into one of America's most powerful female CEOs, she's only a small part of the story—and, in the long run, perhaps not the most interesting. The efforts of the second generation of Hewletts and Packards to cope with the pressure to remain loyal to the company's original vision and the multibillion-dollar legacy left by their fathers present much more compelling material. Chapters on HP's history, intended to provide a backdrop to Fiorina's fight to establish herself, overwhelm her story and reduce it to part of a recurring cycle of boardroom turbulence. Anders provides workmanlike reportage on the events, but falls short of linking it to a big picture worth caring about and never rises to offer a standout story. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Wall Street Journal "A riveting look at the rise and near-fall of a great American company." -- This text refers to an out-of-print or unavailable edition of this title. Fresh from her triumph at Lucent, Carly Fiorina took command of Hewlett-Packard in July 1999. Ever since, there has been worldwide fascination with her eventual destiny. She was venturing further than any woman previously had into traditional men's territory. This wasn't just the engineer's realm of bits and bytes; this was the guys' world of beer blasts, rolled-up shirt sleeves, and deer-hunting trips to the founders' ranch. Could Fiorina use her charismatic salesmanship, earthy wit, and iron will to rescue a billion-company from a painful period of decline? If she failed, would her missteps destroy Hewlett-Packard, the revered computer and printer company that helped create Silicon Valley? Perfect Enough is the definitive account of the most dangerous year in Carly Fiorina's life, chronicling her daring vile bid to remake HP with a record-shattering billion acquisition of archrival Compaq Computer. Not since the late 1980s—when Wall Street operatives battled over the fate of RJR Nabisco—has takeover drama decisively moved beyond the business to become an enduring passage in American history. Looming in the background for the entire story are the ghosts of Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett, two American heroes who founded Hewlett-Packard in a Palo Alto garage during the Great Depression and built it into what was widely known as the best outfit on earth. Although they died as billionaires in their eighties before the HP-Compaq takeover drama began, their principles remain intact. Some of the book's most searingly emotional scenes come when Carly Fiorina and Bill Hewlett's oldest son, Walter, fight to the point of exhaustion about which of them is the rightful heir to the founders' legacy. Fresh from her triumph at Lucent, Carly Fiorina took command of Hewlett-Packard in July 1999. Ever since, there has been worldwide fascination with her eventual destiny. She was venturing further than any woman previously had into traditional men's territory. This wasn't just the engineer's realm of bits and bytes; this was the guys' world of beer blasts, rolled-up shirt sleeves, and deer-hunting trips to the founders' ranch. Could Fiorina use her charismatic salesmanship, earthy wit, and iron will to rescue a billion-company from a painful period of decline? If she failed, would her missteps destroy Hewlett-Packard, the revered computer and printer company that helped create Silicon Valley? Perfect Enough is the definitive account of the most dangerous year in Carly Fiorina's life, chronicling her daring vile bid to remake HP with a record-shattering billion acquisition of archrival Compaq Computer. Not since the late 1980s—when Wall Street operatives battled over the fate of RJR Nabisco—has takeover drama decisively moved beyond the business to become an enduring passage in American history. Looming in the background for the entire story are the ghosts of Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett, two American heroes who founded Hewlett-Packard in a Palo Alto garage during the Great Depression and built it into what was widely known as the best outfit on earth. Although they died as billionaires in their eighties before the HP-Compaq takeover drama began, their principles remain intact. Some of the book's most searingly emotional scenes come when Carly Fiorina and Bill Hewlett's oldest son, Walter, fight to the point of exhaustion about which of them is the rightful heir to the founders' legacy. In Perfect Enough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author George Anders draws on unparalleled access to Hewlett-Packard insiders and board members—including dissident Walter Hewlett—to write about a takeover battle that rocked Wall Street, stunned today. It is a spellbinding chronicle of hope, ambition, betrayal, despair, and family pride.