Tens of thousands of HP and Compaq employees who saw Carly Fiorina's mismanagement and lack of leadership understand why she should not be elected to the US Senate.
If you were employed at HP or Compaq while she was CEO, please click here to share your criticisms of Carly Fiorina.
Please note:
• This is not the place to post opinions of Barbara Boxer, Chuck DeVore, Tom Campbell, or other candidates.
Please limit your comments to Carly Fiorina's performance and track record.
• Please don't use profanity in your posts.
Number of entries: 74 | Number of pages: 8
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Submitted by
Name: John
From: HP 1981-2007
Name: John
From: HP 1981-2007
Comments:
I am yet another California Republican saddened that our party has selected Carly Fiorina. Much evidence has been shared. But, I'm not sure that the story of the HP air fleet has been brought up.
HP had many sites in smaller cities. Because there were so many sites in smaller cities, it was difficult to arrange air transportation between the sites. This problem was shared by executives and employees alike. The HP solution was to have a fleet of small airliners that flew between these smaller cities. These jets were accessible by ANY employee. Executives and employees flew together. A win-win solution.
That wasn't acceptable to Carly.
Carly tossed the fleet of small airliners and replaced it with a fleet of personal jets. These small jets enabled Carly to get anywhere she wanted to go at any time she wanted to go there. Employees were no longer allowed access. Any employee other than Carly was now forced to use the lower availability fly+drive options. This reduced the productivity of all of the employees that worked in multiple sites.
This is evidence of how Carly thinks. Win-lose. When Carly can make a choice, she's the winner and someone else is a loser. Carly's solutions are all about Carly.
This is not the kind of thinking I want to represent our state in the US Senate.
I am yet another California Republican saddened that our party has selected Carly Fiorina. Much evidence has been shared. But, I'm not sure that the story of the HP air fleet has been brought up.
HP had many sites in smaller cities. Because there were so many sites in smaller cities, it was difficult to arrange air transportation between the sites. This problem was shared by executives and employees alike. The HP solution was to have a fleet of small airliners that flew between these smaller cities. These jets were accessible by ANY employee. Executives and employees flew together. A win-win solution.
That wasn't acceptable to Carly.
Carly tossed the fleet of small airliners and replaced it with a fleet of personal jets. These small jets enabled Carly to get anywhere she wanted to go at any time she wanted to go there. Employees were no longer allowed access. Any employee other than Carly was now forced to use the lower availability fly+drive options. This reduced the productivity of all of the employees that worked in multiple sites.
This is evidence of how Carly thinks. Win-lose. When Carly can make a choice, she's the winner and someone else is a loser. Carly's solutions are all about Carly.
This is not the kind of thinking I want to represent our state in the US Senate.
Added: July 7, 2010
Submitted by
Name: Chris
From: HP, 1999-2010
Name: Chris
From: HP, 1999-2010
Comments:
As an engineer who's worked at HP for 10+ years, and a republican, I concur with the preceding accounts documenting Carly Fiorina's arrogance and incompetence. As people have eloquently stated, she achieved poor business results, but the damage she did to HP's unique culture was far worse, and has been longer lasting.
Carly Fiorina in the US Senate absolutely scares me. In large part, we owe our high standard of living to great leaders that set up this 'relatively' compassionate, transparent system of government, imperfect as it is. Fiorina's actions at HP seem more exemplary of a corrupt official in a third world country. I can think of no one I trust less to watch over American democracy.
Anyway, great website! Keep spreading the word--Fiorina is horrible on all levels.
As an engineer who's worked at HP for 10+ years, and a republican, I concur with the preceding accounts documenting Carly Fiorina's arrogance and incompetence. As people have eloquently stated, she achieved poor business results, but the damage she did to HP's unique culture was far worse, and has been longer lasting.
Carly Fiorina in the US Senate absolutely scares me. In large part, we owe our high standard of living to great leaders that set up this 'relatively' compassionate, transparent system of government, imperfect as it is. Fiorina's actions at HP seem more exemplary of a corrupt official in a third world country. I can think of no one I trust less to watch over American democracy.
Anyway, great website! Keep spreading the word--Fiorina is horrible on all levels.
Added: June 30, 2010
Submitted by
Name: Tricia
From: HP, 1996-2000, then as a consultant 2001-2002
Name: Tricia
From: HP, 1996-2000, then as a consultant 2001-2002
Comments:
Carly is an amazing orator. She had me wrapped around her finger when she started. And a woman! I really wanted to see a woman succeed in this role as a CEO of a high tech company.
It didn't take long before I realized (it was obvious to others as well) that Carly wasn't about leading a company. She talked a good game, and got lots of positive press for HP, but operationally, she had no idea what was going on in the company. It was more about promoting her brand, her own self-image.
It took far too long for the Board to oust her. By then the damage was done. She walked away a rich(er) woman. And now she touts her time at HP as her success story?! Shame on her.
Carly is an amazing orator. She had me wrapped around her finger when she started. And a woman! I really wanted to see a woman succeed in this role as a CEO of a high tech company.
It didn't take long before I realized (it was obvious to others as well) that Carly wasn't about leading a company. She talked a good game, and got lots of positive press for HP, but operationally, she had no idea what was going on in the company. It was more about promoting her brand, her own self-image.
It took far too long for the Board to oust her. By then the damage was done. She walked away a rich(er) woman. And now she touts her time at HP as her success story?! Shame on her.
Added: June 28, 2010
Submitted by
Name: Tim
From: HP, 1999-2008
Name: Tim
From: HP, 1999-2008
Comments:
When I worked at HP, the culture was second to none. It was an incredible place to work- high level Managers were no different than interns, and everyone was in it to succeed as a team, we all just had a different role to play. HP had for decades been consistently in the Top 5 companies to work for in the Forbes Top 100. I was only able to experience this small window of the "HP Way" very briefly before the world came crashing down in the form of Carly Fiorina. Within just a few very painful years, Carly was able to successfully landmine the culture and employee morale from a top 5%, to ENTIRELY off the list by 2004. I think she even tried to explain some lame reason why it was HER idea to be excluded from the list. HP has never returned to any spot on the list up to this very day because of the continuing backlash from the Carly years. It is a shame of epic proportion that she was able to completely anhilate a legendary company culture that has had volumes of books written about how utopian it really was. The axe fiannly caught up with me, like 10's of thousands of others, directly related to the ill-conceived illusions of grandure by Carly. Make no mistake, she had something to prove and the agenda was hers alone. There were very epic battles between her and the highly seasoned members of the board, which fought valiantly to try and maintain the intersts of the company and its employees. It was always VERY clear that the company, the people, and the products were not the company, SHE was. She was VERY vocal about local jobs not being a priority because it did not fit her agenda, and using off-shore labor was better for HER bottom line versus the well being of her local employees. A good majority of those cut jobs were industry pioneering employees within the State of California. Many of them so close to retirement that finding another job and way to pay for their pension was almost impossible. Carly was a key player in the down spiral of California's economy. She used her position as a platform to entertain her own agendas and was finally thrown out by her own board members. One bad apple DID spoil the whole bunch. Even though the orignial bad apple has now been removed, the long lasting effects are still there. It will still take decades, if at all, for the company to regain some resemblance of its former self.
Now, let me ask California voters-Do you want to vote for someone that proclaims they want to fix the problem, when they know they were part of the problem to begin with? Do you want someone that is dedicated to your local economy or soemone that has been very vocal about making you "compete" for the jobs that were created in your back-yard, but will line her pocket if she sends them to off-shore markets. If Carly was able to bring to its knees one of the world's greatest and strongest companies, in just a matter of years, with little chance for complete recovery- what will she do to California as a state that is ALREADY on its knees and begging for someone to look beyond themselves and do what is right for the citizens. I am telling you, that person in NOT Carly Fiorina. If you think your state is bad off now, it stands to get a lot worse. Don't wait until Carly fools all of you, like she did all of us at HP, with an initial smile on her face and a well scripted speech. Using history as a guide, I guarantee she has something completely different in mind once she gets on the other side of the door. She is power hungry and will stop at nothing for her desperate search to find another forum to fund and launch her personal agendas. People like her are not automatically qualifed to serve as a senator because soemone was dumb enough to pay her a lot of money to screw up their company and the lives of many thousands of employees. Exercise your civic right- send a message that the U.S. Senate is not a joke and will not be mocked!
When I worked at HP, the culture was second to none. It was an incredible place to work- high level Managers were no different than interns, and everyone was in it to succeed as a team, we all just had a different role to play. HP had for decades been consistently in the Top 5 companies to work for in the Forbes Top 100. I was only able to experience this small window of the "HP Way" very briefly before the world came crashing down in the form of Carly Fiorina. Within just a few very painful years, Carly was able to successfully landmine the culture and employee morale from a top 5%, to ENTIRELY off the list by 2004. I think she even tried to explain some lame reason why it was HER idea to be excluded from the list. HP has never returned to any spot on the list up to this very day because of the continuing backlash from the Carly years. It is a shame of epic proportion that she was able to completely anhilate a legendary company culture that has had volumes of books written about how utopian it really was. The axe fiannly caught up with me, like 10's of thousands of others, directly related to the ill-conceived illusions of grandure by Carly. Make no mistake, she had something to prove and the agenda was hers alone. There were very epic battles between her and the highly seasoned members of the board, which fought valiantly to try and maintain the intersts of the company and its employees. It was always VERY clear that the company, the people, and the products were not the company, SHE was. She was VERY vocal about local jobs not being a priority because it did not fit her agenda, and using off-shore labor was better for HER bottom line versus the well being of her local employees. A good majority of those cut jobs were industry pioneering employees within the State of California. Many of them so close to retirement that finding another job and way to pay for their pension was almost impossible. Carly was a key player in the down spiral of California's economy. She used her position as a platform to entertain her own agendas and was finally thrown out by her own board members. One bad apple DID spoil the whole bunch. Even though the orignial bad apple has now been removed, the long lasting effects are still there. It will still take decades, if at all, for the company to regain some resemblance of its former self.
Now, let me ask California voters-Do you want to vote for someone that proclaims they want to fix the problem, when they know they were part of the problem to begin with? Do you want someone that is dedicated to your local economy or soemone that has been very vocal about making you "compete" for the jobs that were created in your back-yard, but will line her pocket if she sends them to off-shore markets. If Carly was able to bring to its knees one of the world's greatest and strongest companies, in just a matter of years, with little chance for complete recovery- what will she do to California as a state that is ALREADY on its knees and begging for someone to look beyond themselves and do what is right for the citizens. I am telling you, that person in NOT Carly Fiorina. If you think your state is bad off now, it stands to get a lot worse. Don't wait until Carly fools all of you, like she did all of us at HP, with an initial smile on her face and a well scripted speech. Using history as a guide, I guarantee she has something completely different in mind once she gets on the other side of the door. She is power hungry and will stop at nothing for her desperate search to find another forum to fund and launch her personal agendas. People like her are not automatically qualifed to serve as a senator because soemone was dumb enough to pay her a lot of money to screw up their company and the lives of many thousands of employees. Exercise your civic right- send a message that the U.S. Senate is not a joke and will not be mocked!
Added: June 28, 2010
Submitted by
Name: Toni
From: HP, 1985 to 2000
Name: Toni
From: HP, 1985 to 2000
Comments:
Fiorina is a true example of style over substance, slashing the US workforce in favor of cheap out-of-state and off-shore labor. Her spotty voting record comes as no surprise--nor does her petty comment about a fellow candidate's hairstyle.
Fiorina is a true example of style over substance, slashing the US workforce in favor of cheap out-of-state and off-shore labor. Her spotty voting record comes as no surprise--nor does her petty comment about a fellow candidate's hairstyle.
Added: June 15, 2010
Submitted by
Name: Phil
From: HP: 1995-2006
Name: Phil
From: HP: 1995-2006
Comments:
Facts:
- Carly was forced out of her CEO position by HP's board of directors
- Under her "leadership", HP's stock price remained depressed at about $15-$20/share - for >>years<<
- Mere weeks after her successor took over, the stock price jumped to $30/share and has since climbed to over $50/share. Of course, it fell a bit during last year's recession, but now it's back up to $50+/share again.
- Carly's "business" qualifications include a degree in medieval history (!) and nearly running both Lucent and HP into the ground.
- If Californians elect her, you all may end up praying for 'the big one' - better to fall into the ocean than to be governed into wretched poverty
Facts:
- Carly was forced out of her CEO position by HP's board of directors
- Under her "leadership", HP's stock price remained depressed at about $15-$20/share - for >>years<<
- Mere weeks after her successor took over, the stock price jumped to $30/share and has since climbed to over $50/share. Of course, it fell a bit during last year's recession, but now it's back up to $50+/share again.
- Carly's "business" qualifications include a degree in medieval history (!) and nearly running both Lucent and HP into the ground.
- If Californians elect her, you all may end up praying for 'the big one' - better to fall into the ocean than to be governed into wretched poverty
Added: June 13, 2010
Submitted by
Name: Dave
From: 1984-2001
Name: Dave
From: 1984-2001
Comments:
Carly stories:
1) The day she was canned, I recevied no less than 4 phone calls from current and former employees announcing her demise.
2) At the Atlanta Business Center Executive Briefing Center, there had been one of the infamous Carly portraits placed where the Bill and Dave pictures had been (near a display of the early products of the company, including items such as a 200B oscillator, etc).
I attended a meeting the next day and was greatly amused by the fact that her picture had been eradicated faster than that of a third world dictator after a coup.
To my friends in California - Carly is a train wreck in a skirt. If you value having a competent leader over your government, any skid row bum out of L.A. would be a better leader than her. Just say NO! Ask the ex-employees who worked for her at HP and Lucent about their experiences working for her.
Carly stories:
1) The day she was canned, I recevied no less than 4 phone calls from current and former employees announcing her demise.
2) At the Atlanta Business Center Executive Briefing Center, there had been one of the infamous Carly portraits placed where the Bill and Dave pictures had been (near a display of the early products of the company, including items such as a 200B oscillator, etc).
I attended a meeting the next day and was greatly amused by the fact that her picture had been eradicated faster than that of a third world dictator after a coup.
To my friends in California - Carly is a train wreck in a skirt. If you value having a competent leader over your government, any skid row bum out of L.A. would be a better leader than her. Just say NO! Ask the ex-employees who worked for her at HP and Lucent about their experiences working for her.
Added: June 13, 2010
Submitted by
Name: Al
From: 1985-2010
Name: Al
From: 1985-2010
Comments:
If you ask HP employees a very fundamental question about leadership and management: "Will you work for her again?". The answer is a resounding NO, not a chance in hell.
If you ask HP employees a very fundamental question about leadership and management: "Will you work for her again?". The answer is a resounding NO, not a chance in hell.
Added: June 11, 2010
Submitted by
Name: BOC
From: 1983-2001
Name: BOC
From: 1983-2001
Comments:
I joined HP after graduate school because it was rated as one of the best managed companies in the United States.
The founders of HP were deeply concerned with their employees and with the communities where their business operated. Hewlett and Packard wanted to contribute to people's lives and make them better.
Carly Fiorina is opposite of that. She is a complete narcissist. She is only concerned with herself and has no regard for people. She ran the company into the ground, got fired and got a huge compensation package.
Electing her as senator of California would be like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
I joined HP after graduate school because it was rated as one of the best managed companies in the United States.
The founders of HP were deeply concerned with their employees and with the communities where their business operated. Hewlett and Packard wanted to contribute to people's lives and make them better.
Carly Fiorina is opposite of that. She is a complete narcissist. She is only concerned with herself and has no regard for people. She ran the company into the ground, got fired and got a huge compensation package.
Electing her as senator of California would be like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
Added: June 11, 2010
Submitted by
Name: joel
From: 2001
Name: joel
From: 2001
Comments:
It is sad to see a CEO , branded as the worste CEO in the USA by Conde Nast running for Senate,Sarah apauling that irresponsable mother call her "Fiona the Furor" an interesting choice of word for a CEO that orchestrated in house spying on Employee then it should be interpreted as the German word "Furer" and that all she was while at HP let's the numbers speak for themselves 1999 stock $ 52 2005 stock value $22 , 1999 HP employees 124600 2005 she cut more than 10 % of the work force , R$D etc interestingly she is anti immigration but keep a gardner and maid , guess from which country .
Like thousand of HP and Compact Employee I have a very hard time staying civil knowing what she put all the Hp Employees thru. She was not qualified as a CEO and certainly not as a Senator. She went on a Rampage on Barbara Boxer criticizing her asset and earning , may I remind everyone reading this blog , when than "furor" left HP she had the most obsvcene golden parachute ever while HPwas still slashing jobs to stay afloat after her mismanagement . And you want somnthing like that as a Senator Gee California you like pain.
It is sad to see a CEO , branded as the worste CEO in the USA by Conde Nast running for Senate,Sarah apauling that irresponsable mother call her "Fiona the Furor" an interesting choice of word for a CEO that orchestrated in house spying on Employee then it should be interpreted as the German word "Furer" and that all she was while at HP let's the numbers speak for themselves 1999 stock $ 52 2005 stock value $22 , 1999 HP employees 124600 2005 she cut more than 10 % of the work force , R$D etc interestingly she is anti immigration but keep a gardner and maid , guess from which country .
Like thousand of HP and Compact Employee I have a very hard time staying civil knowing what she put all the Hp Employees thru. She was not qualified as a CEO and certainly not as a Senator. She went on a Rampage on Barbara Boxer criticizing her asset and earning , may I remind everyone reading this blog , when than "furor" left HP she had the most obsvcene golden parachute ever while HPwas still slashing jobs to stay afloat after her mismanagement . And you want somnthing like that as a Senator Gee California you like pain.
Added: June 10, 2010