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The Big Lie
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The Big Lie

Spying, Scandal, and Ethical Collapse at Hewlett-Packard

Anthony Bianco
Public Affairs, 2010
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

As corporate scandals go, Hewlett-Packard’s 2006 boardroom imbroglio hardly rises to the level of Enron. No one went to jail, and HP shares quickly recovered. Even so, journalist Anthony Bianco manages to spin an entertaining yarn from this tempest in a tech teapot. Bianco gained impressive access to the main players in the HP battle. He unearths a wealth of telling details, and he offers a contrarian analysis of the “Spygate” scandal, though readers might wonder why they should care about a long-forgotten blowup and whether the evidence supports Bianco’s strong criticism of then-CEO Mark Hurd (since replaced by Leo Apotheker). getAbstract recommends this book to readers seeking a cautionary tale about issues that remain relevant, from the dangers of toxic corporate climates to invasion of privacy.

Summary

Hewlett-Packard’s “Spygate” Nabs the Wrong Culprit

In 2006 Hewlett-Packard’s boardroom bickering exploded into corporate scandal. The business press leapt on the juicy details of corporate espionage, eager to explore why HP’s brass hired private investigators to hack into the private phone records of both company directors and big-league journalists. When the unsavory spying became public, HP’s reputation suffered a major hit. Spygate, as it came to be called, yielded criminal charges, congressional hearings and new attention to the dangers of boardroom dysfunction. As a result, HP forced the board’s chairman, a self-made tycoon named Patricia “Pattie” Dunn, out of her position. As far as the press, the public and law enforcement were concerned, Dunn was the culprit.

While Dunn clearly deserves a share of the blame for Spygate, the scandal wasn’t entirely her fault. In truth, HP’s then CEO Mark Hurd (the successor to famous former CEO Carly Fiorina) shared Dunn’s culpability, but he mostly escaped the scandal, and his star continued to rise. Other than Dunn and Hurd, the pivotal players in the Spygate saga included board member George A. “Jay” Keyworth II, HP’s amateurish...

About the Author

Anthony Bianco wrote for BusinessWeek for 27 years, producing more than 50 cover stories. He also wrote Wal-Mart: The Bully of Bentonville among other works.

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