Bored of HP board shenanigans (and dogfight)

Here we go again; it's IT Blogwatch, in which (sigh) the HP board implodes. Not to mention a flash multiplayer dogfighting game...

Martin MC Brown is puzzled:

Patricia Dunn has resigned as Chairman (Chairwoman?) of HP, effective from January 2007. She is not going immediately, and only stepping down from the top position; she will remain at HP. The whole situation is bad for HP, and bad press for corporations and directors of many companies, because it gives the impression that others would be willing to do the same in similar circumstances.

CJ Kelly talks about trust:

The blame rests solely on Chairwoman Patricia Dunn. It is right and fair that she has been asked to step down or forced to, however you want to look at it ... I have to know that HP, either as an employer or a vendor, can be trusted ... The choices HP is now making are restoring my faith in them. Good move.
The lesson in this for all publicly traded companies is that investigations must have legal bounds, a highly defined process, and the appropriate approvals. 

Dominic Jones calls Dunn's departure "ambiguous":

Patricia Dunn will relinquish her seat as chair in January but will stay on the board as a director. And in a step backwards for the company’s corporate governance practices, CEO Mark Hurd will become both Chairman and CEO, a practice widely considered to place too much power in the hands of a single individual.
...
Director George Keyworth, who was identified as the source for a January 2006 media article which prompted the company’s notorious probe, has resigned from the board immediately. Amazingingly, [HP] says Keyworth said nothing wrong in his interview with the CNET reporters, but should have gone through HP’s PR department, which in the past had often asked him to do interviews with the media ... Let’s get this straight, the one person who was furthering HP’s interests, according to the company’s own statements, is gone. So who’s left?

Paul Kedrosky calls it "nonsensical":

Welcome to splitting the baby in half, HP-boardroom style ... Ms. Dunn oversaw  -- she apologized after all -- investigative techniques that both she and Hurd conceded were inappropriate, and yet she is remaining on the HP board. I bet the boardroom discussions that hacked together this political decision were right out of "Yes, Prime Minister".

As an aside, l love how HP brings a bogeyman into the press release ... We did this for all of you, she's seemingly saying. How lovely.

Dwight Silverman agrees:

Exactly why she's delaying her departure is unclear ... The correct response would be: "I made the decision to investigate. I sit at the head of the table. I screwed up." Having a chairperson who can't accept responsibility for errors isn't good for HP. The company would be better off if she cleared out her desk now.

Eric Rescorla has a quick summary of the legal investigations:

The list of people/organizations investigating the HP pretexting scandal now includes:

• California attorney general Bill Lockyear
• The US Attorney's office for Northern California.
• The FBI
• Congress

Here's the thing: it's reasonably clear what HP's investigators did, and while a lot of people seem to want to get in on the action, what we're a little short on is specifics about exactly what law they think has been broken. Typically, this is a sign that while everyone thinks something bad has happened, it's not clear it's actually illegal.

Corporate attorney Alex Simpson has more:

A spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said state investigators have "sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against individuals inside Hewlett-Packard as well as outside the company." Mr. Lockyer said in an interview with the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: "People's identities were taken falsely, and it's a crime. People accessed computer records that have personal information. That's a crime."

That's not good news for HP.  So far, HP's stock has not reacted negatively to the scandal.  Indictments would most likely change that.

Good point; Scoble, R. notes the stock is at $37:

A friend who is a stock trader told me that the market might actually be predicting that a new board is coming — and is raising the price in advance of such an event. A new board would mean better leadership for HP, which would increase growth and everything that shareholders love. But, it’s a weird signal to send, most people will see the increase in share price as evidence that the shareholders aren’t willing to do anything about this board. The problem is, what if this board stays in place? Is there any chance that this board will be able to heal the rifts, get through the bad PR, and start doing anything close to what a board is supposed to do?

Dan Fost gives the last word to Ellison and McNealy:

Wonk that I am, I did take a few minutes to ask both McNealy and Ellison for a comment on Silicon Valley's hot news of the day ... McNealy chose not to comment, except to wryly crack, "Chairman's a harder job than it looks."
...
Ellison wasn't nearly so coy. "I think the whole thing is rather unfortunate," he said. "Mark Hurd is a fabulous CEO. He's really turned the company around. It's unfortunate it's been such a distraction. HP is an icon of Silicon Valley ... Everyone says, 'Gee, why doesn't Mark Hurd clean this up?' He works for the board ... I think it'd be great to have him be chairman, HP is lucky to have him."

Ellison said it will be a good thing for HP employees when the company can put the incident behind it. When he was reminded that may not happen soon, as former HP CEO Carly Fiorina's book is due out next month, he said, "That's unfortunate."

Buffer overflow:

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And finally... Multiplayer dogfight!

Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk.