Backfire: Carly Fiorina's High-Stakes Battle for the Soul of Hewlett-Packard
by Peter Burrows
List Price:
Our Price: $6.08
You Save: $28.87 (83%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Peter BurrowsEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-02-15
ISBN: 0471267651
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Wiley
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780471267652
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Backfire: Carly Fiorina's High-Stakes Battle for the Soul of Hewlett-Packard
Book Review: A Reporter's Eye with a Thriller's Pace
Summary: 5 Stars
"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 significance of this unique culture, further alienating frustrated employees, by the time Fiorina arrived on the scene it was already in steep decline. What was once an honored tradition of mutual respect and pride in innovation had been replaced by a sense of entitlement and an excuse for sloth. It is unfortunate, Burrows notes, than in the age of Enron and WorldCom, with corporate America in desperate need of the principals and values that embodied the "HP Way", that there is little chance of resuscitation under Fiorina's reign.
In summary, "Backfire" is a masterful portrayal of the rise-and-fall of an American icon, and a revealing exposé for the behind-the-scenes machinations of history's largest technology merger and ugliest proxy fight. It is a must read for anyone interested in the history of Silicon Valley, executive leadership, corporate governance, or corporate culture. In the subsequent dissections of the HP/Compaq post-merger failures (or, less likely, successes) that are sure to come over the next several years, Peter Burrows' "Backfire" will serve as a frequently quoted and pivotal reference point.
Summary of Backfire: Carly Fiorina's High-Stakes Battle for the Soul of Hewlett-Packard
An insider's look at the internal turmoil at one of the world's premier high-tech companiesThis is the inside story of Hewlett-Packard Company's struggle to regain its former glory, and of the high-stakes battle between CEO Carly Fiorina and family scion Walter Hewlett over how best to achieve that goal. For decades, HP was admired not only for its innovative products and soaring stock price, but for its egalitarian corporate culture and father-knows-best integrity. Backfire explains how the company fell on hard times, recounts the historic decision that made Fiorina the world's top-ranking female executive, and brings to life the backlash that resulted when she tried to impose her charismatic salesmanship on the aging icon. Top BusinessWeek journalist Peter Burrows gives the dramatic blow-by-blow of Hewlett's effort to kill Fiorina's most controversial move of all, her $19 billion purchase of rival Compaq Computer. Fiorina won by a whisker, after the most expensive proxy fight in history and a dramatic lawsuit that accused the company of illegally fixing the vote. This gripping, ongoing story includes fascinating personalities and dramatic boardroom and courtroom drama.
Peter Burrows (Alameda, CA) has been a technology reporter for BusinessWeek for nine years and has covered the HP saga from the start. The department editor for BusinessWeek's computer coverage, he has been the principal chronicler of Fiorina's tenure at HP, and has written three cover stories on the subject. He has also written numerous other cover stories, including looks at Steve Jobs's Apple Computer and Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy.
Company Profiles Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Company Profiles Books
You Bet: The Betfair Storyby Colin Cameron
HarperCollins UK; Published: 2009-05-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
The New Financial Capitalists: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Creation of Corporate Valueby George P. Baker, George David Smith
Cambridge University Press; Published: 1998-10-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Sam Walton: Made In Americaby Sam Walton
Bantam; Published: 1993-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.63
Price in other shops:
SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Goodby Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Crown Business; Published: 2009-08-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.90
Price in other shops:
The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachsby Charles D. Ellis
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2009-09-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Streetby Michael Lewis
Penguin Books; Published: 1990-10-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.50
Price in other shops:
Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computerby Paul Freiberger
Mcgraw-Hill Osborne Media; Published: 1984-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolutionby Michael Hammer, James Champy
Harperbusiness; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.20
Price in other shops:
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabiscoby Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
HarperBusiness; Published: 2008-10-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.72
Price in other shops:
Longaberger: An American Success Storyby David H. Longaberger, Robert L. Shook
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2003-08-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.95
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Chasing Goldman Sachs: How the Masters of the Universe Melted Wall Street Down . . . And Why They'll Take Us to the Brink Againby Suzanne McGee
Crown Business; Published: 2010-06-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.96
Price in other shops:
Perfect Enough: Carly Fiorina and the Reinvention of Hewlett Packardby George Anders
Portfolio Hardcover; Published: 2003-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
The Big Lie: Spying, Scandal, and Ethical Collapse at Hewlett Packardby Anthony Bianco
PublicAffairs; Published: 2010-05-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
The Big Lie: Spying, Scandal, and Ethical Collapse at Hewlett Packardby Anthony Bianco
PublicAffairs; Published: 2010-05-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.66
Price in other shops:
Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership (NelsonFree)by Tim Irwin
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2009-11-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.25
Price in other shops:
The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company (Collins Business Essentials)by David Packard
HarperBusiness; Published: 2006-01-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.46
Price in other shops:
Tough Choices: A Memoirby Carly Fiorina
Portfolio Hardcover; Published: 2006-10-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.92
Price in other shops:
Perfect Enough: Carly Fiorina and the Reinvention of Hewlett-Packardby George Anders
Portfolio Trade; Published: 2004-01-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Tough Choices: A Memoirby Carly Fiorina
Portfolio Trade; Published: 2007-09-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
Bill & Dave: How Hewlett and Packard Built the World's Greatest Companyby Michael S. Malone
Portfolio Hardcover; Published: 2007-04-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.78
Price in other shops: