Shoot yourself in the foot, then SUE!
I may have mentioned the riddle:
Q: Why are there so many toxic waste dumps in New Jersey and so many lawyers in California?
A: Jersey got “first pick!” 
High Tech is a fascinating place filled with illegal discrimination, self-destructive offshoring, thefts of intellectual property, and hovering lawyers.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has filed a lawsuit against its former CEO, Mark Hurd, to block him from joining Oracle as co-president, after forcing Hurd’s resignation from HP! (HP might deny that Hurd was forced out <don’t know!>, but that is not what it “looks like.”)
Duh!
Don’t you think the actions are just a bit late?
I have seen a lot of “maroonic” behavior in Silicon Valley, but this latest episode in the “sex scandal without sex” is quite remarkable! If you value the skills of a person in your organization, and the person could be an even greater liability on the “outside,” WHY would you force the person out?
Most selfish, greedy, yet THINKING executives/board members would not have forced Hurd to resign, but would have found an alternative to “shooting themselves in the foot” with a veritable piece of artillery. The CNNMoney article notes that Hurd was in charge of developing strategic plans “to compete against HP’s competitors, including Oracle” after having received a “highly competitive internal analysis of Oracle” in March.
In the court documents filed today, HP said that it believes Hurd has put its “most valuable trade secrets and confidential information in peril.” Please recall that in the executive ranks of companies, upwards of 90% of individuals (male and female) are Myers-Briggs “thinking-judging” personality types who generally find it hard to accept responsibility for their own actions and often require a scapegoat. (Usually, in elementary schools, teachers try to “correct” this type of defective attitude/behavior, many times without realizing that it is a genetically determined personality type of the individual that WILL BE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER AND SELECTED FOR in corporations, in later life. ) Personally, I think that oftentimes “thinking” is a misnomer or a euphemism for “less feeling,” but “judging” is “RIGHT ON THE MONEY.”
In any case, I disagree. HP has put ITS OWN most valuable trade secrets and confidential information in peril through extremely short-sighted politics at the executive level, and Larry Ellison would be “remiss in his duties” if he did not seize such an opportunity. (Nobody I know would ever accuse Mr. Ellison of such an error. )
To be honest, the whole matter of Mark Hurd was pretty uninteresting to me, until the possible move to Oracle and now, especially, HP’s attempt to “stop the bleeding” after severing its own artery.
The days ahead should fascinating. Bring tourniquets….
-Bill at
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