The Economist reviewed Carly Fiorina’s biography, Tough Choices
The review closes with a damning paragraph:
Her bigger theme is leadership, and this is where Ms Fiorina fails. Again and again, she interrupts a good narrative with vain and verbose harangues about corporate strategy. From one paragraph to the next, her language becomes wooden and cliched as she descends into meaningless jargon. Things such as “frameworks” are constantly being “leveraged”, usually “proactively” and “going forward”. Like most former chiefs in search of redemption, Ms Fiorina wants to be remembered as a corporate philosopher. She won’t be. But she will be remembered more fondly than she thought.
This makes me think that the corporate bullshit that passes for communication in large companies starts at the top.
Full disclosure: HP is a new client of ours, here at Articulate HQ. Further disclosure: the article in the Economist ran alongside a review of the new Velazquez exhibition at the National Gallery and a reproduction of the Rokeby Venus (“The Toilet of Venus”). Ugliness in words contrasted with beauty in art. Nice one, Economist.
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Actually, when I saw the “Venus” picture in this post, it made me think you were making some kind of comparison between how Venus is gazing into the mirror, and Fiorina’s vanity in thinking herself some sort of “corporate philosopher.”
Quote: “makes me think that the corporate bullshit that passes for communication in large companies starts at the top.” End quote
How true and what corporaste bosses fail to comprehend is the inability of those lower down the org structure, to correctly interpret what he wants. Or intimates.
Horror stories could result.
Sounds like Carly used the “Corporate Bullshit Generator” as a ghost writer for her book. http://members.aol.com/matt999h/bullshit.htm
I think a more profound painting to represent Carly Fiorina’s tenure at HP would be this one. Carly was a corporate maggot who nearly killed HP and was content with feasting on its rotting flesh.
I always believed that top execs are suckers for a good metaphor. And wondered if the “CEO as Philosopher” transformation occurs because there simply aren’t enough people around willing to call bullshit.
I guess I’m in the minority here. I thoroughly enjoyed the quotes of Carly Fiorina. The book may be taken as a tutorial, or trashed as a personal pat on the back. Either way, she is one brilliant woman who is laughing all the way to the bank.
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