H-P (HPQ +1.8%) has given up most of the gains that followed its FQ1 beat and layoff plans. Concerns the $10B Autonomy purchase may be proving disastrous are probably playing a role. Not only did H-P report Autonomy, which was posting decent growth at the time of the acquisition, see a major Y/Y drop in license revenue, H-P fired founder Mike Lynch in response. The Guardian's sources indicate Lynch and his team didn't mesh well with H-P's "bureaucratic" culture. (transcript) [View news story]
It is not Autonomy's fault they could not "mesh well with HP's bureaucratic culture". The problem is HP's bureaucratic culture! The purchase will destroy Autonomy and its revenue. HP personnel leading just the integration of Autonomy into the old IPG - now PPS - are the problem as well. Until Meg fixes HP the result will not be any different.
HP Sinks To Multi-Year Lows Ahead Of 2Q 2012 Earnings [View article]
Meg will not be able to make good decisions about what to cut and what to invest in as every VP is determined to preserve their kingdom - to the point of "manufacturing" numbers to save their butts.
Meg needs people that will not lie to her...Something she does not have.
Cuts may help in the short term to show quarterly earnings but it will create long term failure. There are those of us who could help Meg if she would just ask.
H-P (HPQ) is planning massive layoffs that, along with an early retirement program and attrition, could reduce its workforce by 10%-15%, a source tells BI's Julie Bort. It's also claimed H-P's services division will report an "abysmal quarter" when the company delivers its FQ2 results on Tuesday. Multiple IT services/outsourcing firms posted weak Q1 results (I, II). (previous) [View news story]
We should not be surprised. When Meg made her treks out to see "the workers" around the world she mentioned that she now understands them. One situation that occurred in Boise Idaho during her meeting with employees was that she was asked, "Why do you let VP's get rid of, terrorize, demean and fire managers and individuals who are actually producing - when those very same VP's make up numbers to enable themselves to look good, criticize anyone who actually really knows the business, and thumb their nose at HP SBC (Standards of Business Conduct)?"
Her response was, "That occurred in the past and we should now move forward." The major - an ongoing problem - is that Meg and Todd are allowing the very same behavior to continue. In addition they are NOT repairing the problems that were created from this behavior and blatant before they arrived to remake IPG into PSS. The very same VP's who make up numbers to enable themselves to look good, criticize anyone who knows the business, and who thumb their noses at HP SBC remain - in fact at least one has been reappointed!!
Yes Mark Hurd gutted the resources of HP and brought in his friends to run business lines they had little if no real background to manage (ie MPS). But neither Meg or Todd has taken any action to fix the problems. Many of the VP's and Sr VP's are still more dedicated to covering up for each other than actually growing the business. In MES they still spend over a million a year on a "vacation fund" to visit "advisory committees" that produce next to nothing. And Todd continues to allow it to happen.
Yes Meg can slash just as Mark did...her bigger problem is that those that can actually help her have already been run out of HP so that those who are less talented look better. She is stuck with VP's that could never get a job at Xerox or other competitors and who are totally incapable of winning in the marketplace against HP's competitors. Sad days for HP and nothing shows any sighs this will change.
A month after H-P (HPQ -0.2%) announced a major reorg (to the Street's general disinterest), the company's newly-created Enterprise Group is consolidating its regional sales teams. Arik Hesseldahl notes the moves mesh with Meg Whitman's efforts to streamline H-P's operations at a time of growing share losses. [View news story]
All this amounts to is layoffs of "overlapping" sales persons and adding additional load to those that remain. The sales management stays the same - same talent or lack thereof - so where is the big deal?
Bargain-Bin Stock HP Is 70% Undervalued [View article]
Meg is fine but it is the rest of the massive matrix that has not been addressed. She is not going to get different behavior from people that have created the lackluster, barely (if at all) breaking even performance. Meg's problem is that she is getting fed numbers and "data" that is simply created to shelter and safeguard VP's. If she listens to many of the VP's who present to her - that is in fact the big problem - and she does not know what is reality and what is vaporware. Especially from those who can into IPG with Hurd.
Hewlett Packard: How Things Are Now Coming Together [View article]
Even if you merge the divisions the problem is getting different behavior. IPG is a complex matrix of VP's who defend their truf - especially in the MPS area where they really do not have the depth of background in the MPS areas like the competition does. The next step is move MPS to ES and let a new team manage it before it declines any more. You cannot get new results from the same players.
Don't Give Meg Whitman The Benefit Of The Doubt [View article]
HP IPG's managed print group is a mess and headed south. VJ has trusted the wrong guys in the MPS group and will pay a big price in FY12. The motions are much more PR than performance and it is getting harder to hide it. They have no BPO background like Xerox/ACS and the guys running IPG MPS have destroyed the alliance with the old ES group.
Hewlett Packard: Why Investors Should Trust Meg Whitman [View article]
The problem is that Meg does not know how big her problems are – because the problem is deep inside at the VP level. The problem is that she has the same people trying to solve the problems that created them. Take the Managed Print Solutions for example. She has a bunch of Mark Hurd’s old buddies (who are there only because they knew Mark - not because they are steeped in MPS) trying to run a business that they have the least amount of expertise in of any of the major competitors. Yes, some of these buddies came from Lexmark but look what kind of mess they made of Lexmark. This is just one example. You cannot "change" things when you have the same guys that are causing the problems trying to fix them. That is just plain stupid. The second problem is that Meg does not have any one around her that knows when guys like these from MPS show slides that are nothing more than "slide ware" or as better known inside HP as "vaporware" – with nothing behind slides. Until Meg cleans house of the VP's that are there to be nothing more than “Kings of their Kingdoms”she will never be successful or have the right people around her to get real change. Stay tuned for more detail. Just check which direction the MPS numbers are headed.
What To Do With HP Now? Keep Trading The Range [View article]
In the Printer Group the Managed Print Services (MPS) business is imploding due to very poor strategy, poor managment and compeditors who know the business better than HP. Look for HP MPS to continue to suck pond water. Be careful of HP's MPS numbers - lots of manipultions there.
H-P (HPQ +1.8%) has given up most of the gains that followed its FQ1 beat and layoff plans. Concerns the $10B Autonomy purchase may be proving disastrous are probably playing a role. Not only did H-P report Autonomy, which was posting decent growth at the time of the acquisition, see a major Y/Y drop in license revenue, H-P fired founder Mike Lynch in response. The Guardian's sources indicate Lynch and his team didn't mesh well with H-P's "bureaucratic" culture. (transcript) [View news story]
HP Sinks To Multi-Year Lows Ahead Of 2Q 2012 Earnings [View article]
Meg needs people that will not lie to her...Something she does not have.
Cuts may help in the short term to show quarterly earnings but it will create long term failure. There are those of us who could help Meg if she would just ask.
H-P (HPQ) is planning massive layoffs that, along with an early retirement program and attrition, could reduce its workforce by 10%-15%, a source tells BI's Julie Bort. It's also claimed H-P's services division will report an "abysmal quarter" when the company delivers its FQ2 results on Tuesday. Multiple IT services/outsourcing firms posted weak Q1 results (I, II). (previous) [View news story]
Her response was, "That occurred in the past and we should now move forward." The major - an ongoing problem - is that Meg and Todd are allowing the very same behavior to continue. In addition they are NOT repairing the problems that were created from this behavior and blatant before they arrived to remake IPG into PSS. The very same VP's who make up numbers to enable themselves to look good, criticize anyone who knows the business, and who thumb their noses at HP SBC remain - in fact at least one has been reappointed!!
Yes Mark Hurd gutted the resources of HP and brought in his friends to run business lines they had little if no real background to manage (ie MPS). But neither Meg or Todd has taken any action to fix the problems. Many of the VP's and Sr VP's are still more dedicated to covering up for each other than actually growing the business. In MES they still spend over a million a year on a "vacation fund" to visit "advisory committees" that produce next to nothing. And Todd continues to allow it to happen.
Yes Meg can slash just as Mark did...her bigger problem is that those that can actually help her have already been run out of HP so that those who are less talented look better. She is stuck with VP's that could never get a job at Xerox or other competitors and who are totally incapable of winning in the marketplace against HP's competitors. Sad days for HP and nothing shows any sighs this will change.
A month after H-P (HPQ -0.2%) announced a major reorg (to the Street's general disinterest), the company's newly-created Enterprise Group is consolidating its regional sales teams. Arik Hesseldahl notes the moves mesh with Meg Whitman's efforts to streamline H-P's operations at a time of growing share losses. [View news story]
Bargain-Bin Stock HP Is 70% Undervalued [View article]
Hewlett Packard: How Things Are Now Coming Together [View article]
Don't Give Meg Whitman The Benefit Of The Doubt [View article]
Hewlett Packard: Why Investors Should Trust Meg Whitman [View article]
What To Do With HP Now? Keep Trading The Range [View article]
What To Do With HP Now? Keep Trading The Range [View article]