

Joe Nocera on Hurd & HP - julius_geezer
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/business/14nocera.html?_r=1&ref=business

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andrewmlevy
I used to work at HP -- it was a very depressing work environment. As the
article mentions, Hurd was absolutely despised and his "cost cutting" was very
much ridiculous. The employees were left with nothing, salaries/jobs were cut,
even seemingly cheap luxuries like tea and water. We moved buildings twice
during my tenure there, each time to a smaller workspace.

As an outsider before I joined, I can say its reputation far exceeds reality.
Leaving for YC was a no-brainer. On a sidenote it seems the only ones left are
the "lifers," all of the younger engineers have moved on. Short the stock.

~~~
ajg1977
"In his five years at H.P., every metric Wall Street uses to judge companies
had gone in only one direction: up."

And this is the problem. Cutting jobs/salaries/benefits/projects leads to the
type of share-bumping profit and cost-cutting figures that Wall Street types
love, all while destroying the culture of a company and its chance of long
term success.

------
skmurphy
Key graf:

    
    
       One thing I found surprising this week was learning that to many H.P. 
       observers Ms. Fiorina no longer seemed quite so bad. It was actually 
       her strategic vision that Mr. Hurd had executed, I heard again and again. 
       Her problem was that while she talked a good game, she lacked the skill 
       to get that big, hulking, aircraft carrier of a company moving in the 
       direction she pointed. Mr. Hurd was a brilliant operational executive, 
       but had the strategic sense of a gnat, and knew only how to cut costs.

