Backfire: Carly Fiorina's High Stakes Battle for the Soul of Hewlett Packard

by Peter Burrows

An insider's look at the internal turmoil at one of the world's premier high-tech companies This is the inside story of Hewlett-Packard Company's struggle to regain its former glory, and of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471267651
• ISBN13: 9780471267652
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Better than fiction

This book gives us a better insight on what's going on at "the top." Oh, those company layoffs. I am just glad to have survived many of them. Even just a rumor of them is sure to diminished one's morale. But now I know why they have to happen. I admire Fiorina's toughness, poised and confidence. BUT....It breaks my heart to find out the ridicules and bad treatment that Hewlett received. Come on, he is Hewlett! Here is a scene where Hewlett arrived with Neal at Steve Schatz office for his deposition. Steve Schatz, a former government prosecutor, wanted to prove that Hewlett wasn't the Jimmy Stewart character the press had made him out to be. ... Schatz let Hewlett know how he felt about him immediately, apologizing that the deposition was starting a few minutes late. "I hope you won't think that I had some nefarious rationale for it starting a few minutes late," he said, a clear reference to Hewlett's claim that HP delayed the start of the shareholder vote so it could lean on Deutsche Bank. From there Schatz didn't hold back. At one point, HIS FACE INCHES AWAY FROM HEWLETT AND HIS FINGER JABBING THE AIR, Schatz asked: "Are you aware that your complaint accuses Hewlett-Packard of lying?" according to Hewlett and Steve Neal. The session was rife with mutual disdain, disrespect, and rudeness. Schatz fired away, and reloaded every few seconds. Schatz denied anything inappropriate. Read this book. It's better than fiction. Romina Wilcox, Author of Cold Eyes

Computer server business assessment needed in book

I enjoyed this book as it contained substantial original reporting that is not duplicative of the work that others have done. I would have liked to see more material concerning bottom line issues. The bottom line issue that has the most resonance for me is the Wall Street assessment, both now, and at the time of the merger, that HP's non-printing businesses have no value on the Street. In other words, if HP were to be bought by some other firm, the Wall Street consensus is that such an acquirer should simply eliminate the other businesses. HP's value is actually less as currently structured because eliminating these other businesses has closing costs associated with this shutdown activity.The clear implication here is that Walter Hewlett was absolutely correct in opposing this merger, since the result clearly is that 20 billion dollars was completely wasted, and precious time is still being lost on ineffective strategies to revive these businesses. With the benefit of hindsight we can say that Walter Hewlett should have been given more credit than he received, even from Burrows, for opposing this capital and job destruction, even in the face of Fiorina's personal attacks.This book should have pointed out that these at-risk businesses can still be saved, particularly the server and server-related businesses, with the appointment of proper management by the Board of Directors. What they need to be looking for this time is not someone whose picture has been on the cover of "Fortune" magazine, as was Carly's before she was hired, but someone with the knowledge and interest in saving HP. Carly not only does not have the engineering expertise, she simply creates the impression that she has no interest in HP's existing businesses, even printing, which she has left to wither on the vine in a new investment sense. HP has had a computer server business for over 25 years. It is a big market, roughly 50 billion yearly and rising. HP has 27%, but has failed to gain any share at all from the collapse of Sun Microsystems. Instead, customers are transfering to IBM and Dell, which should be a big wake-up call for the Board. Dell Computer is number one in market position for the key Linux server business, perhaps because of HP's totally insular and uninformed approach to this market. A lot of hard work by HP employees went into building a formerly successful server business, it is senseless to discard this potentially excellent business because Carly is more interested in trying to sell MP3s at Starbucks, something that will never generate much profit.I would have liked to have seen a clear statement in this book that if in the summer of 2004 if HP's non-printer businesses are still worth zero, that the HP Board of Directors needs hire a new CEO. Doubtless they prefer to have a charming dialogue with Carly about her boneheaded hipster ideas involving HP products in Starbucks rather than argue with some computer nerd about computer enterprise/service-

He didn't have to drink the kool aid

In addition to being a compelling, insightful account of the merger announcement and ensuing proxy fight, Backfire gives a wonderful glimpse into the heart and soul of the most powerful woman in American business. Especially when it comes to the Lucent anecdotes and the revealing moments after she first arrived at HP, Burrows provides a rich tapestry of insight and examples that allow you to truly get your mind around (and inside) what makes Carly tick. With a wealth of interview material to draw from obtained prior to the HP's decision to freeze him out, what this tome does without compromise is maintain its sense of impartial perspective -- a never wavering eye on the events of the past and present. No deal had to be struck and no compromises made in order to deliver this saga, and it is far more fascinating, honest, and revealing without those concessions.

Burrows Gets it Right

This is a great book and an easy read. Burrows makes you feel like he is sitting across from you as he discusses the merger, the HP Way, Carly and Walter Hewlett's motivations. He clearly brings recognition to the HP Way and how it made HP a great company, and the dangers involved in destroying HP's identity by merging with Compaq. Why would a company with a suffering PC division want to buy a PC giant that was suffering even more, in a market where consumers have stopped buying PC's? "Two garbage trucks colliding". And yet Burrows gives credence to Carly's abilities and talent and clearly offers both sides of the story.The best part of this book is the general business understanding it offers of mergers gone wrong. This is a prime example and well portrayed.

A Reporter's Eye with a Thriller's Pace

"Backfire", Peter Burrows' remarkable chronicle of Hewlett-Packard's controversial acquisition of Compaq, marks an important milestone in the rich technology heritage of Silicon Valley. "Backfire" is far more ambitious than the pabulum typical of business writings. In order to build a cogent thesis, Burrows takes on a broad range of topics, including pertinent biographical background of the key players, the legend and lore of Hewlett Packard - the company and the founders - and the arcane mechanics of proxy votes and corporate government. But while the subject matter risks could easily yield a pompous and boring analytical tome, the author injects exactly the right amount of intrigue, drama, treachery, and humor while capturing characters that are wholly believable in their flaws, foibles, and ultimate victory or defeat. The economy of Burrows' prose, sharpened by years of reporting for "Business Week", yields a tale that is a true page-turner with much more energy, excitement, and personality than the standard business fare. Any frequent "Business Week" reader knows that Burrows is no fan of Carly Fiorina. Consequently, the author was not granted official access to either Fiorina or HP officials (HP denies any connection, citing only "scheduling conflicts"). Notwithstanding, his portrayal of HP's embattled CEO is vivid and wholly believable. Fiorina, the marketer and master-of-spin with no prior CEO experience, is injected into the venerable but stumbling culture of Hewlett-Packard. A veteran of the politics and bureaucracy of AT & T and Lucent, she is an unusual match for the techno-nerd culture of HP, where products trump hype and integrity and loyalty are revered. But while Burrows' criticism of Fiorina is biting and unrestrained, due credit is given to her tenacity, oratory skills, and relentless dedication to completing the acquisition at all costs. Walter Hewlett, who rises from a cocoon academic obscurity to fight-the-good-fight is treated much more charitably, but he only barely qualifies as the hero of the tale. While recognized for his honor and integrity in refusing to allow the proxy fight to deteriorate into personal attacks on Fiorina, his actions and judgment as a board member in the weeks and months prior to the planned merger's announcement are rightfully questioned. If there is a villain in the story, it is HP's board of directors. It is the board that passively watched while HP failed to capitalize on the rise of the Internet in the mid-late nineties, allowing HP to degenerate to a position of significance only in its printers. It was the board that initiated a bizarre, if not amateurish, CEO search leaving Fiorina as virtually the only real candidate for this high-profile job. Much is made of the demise of the celebrated "HP Way". But Burrows wisely resists the temptation to attribute all of the responsibility for this decline on Fiorina. While it is successfully argued that she failed to grasp the true signif