Friday, December 20, 2002

HP Board Creates Tech Committees. In a surprising move, it seems that Hewlett Packard's board has created a special technology subcommittee and a technology advisory board who have the job of making sure the company doesn't miss out on any important technology trends. I think this is a great idea in theory, but I wonder how well it will work in practice. I think too many companies don't have anyone looking at larger trends and how it will effect their business (witness the entertainment industry, for example). The folks they have included are certainly impressive, but I wonder if some of them are too high up to spot certain trends early enough. [Techdirt] I was much encouraged by what I read until I got to this: They say Fiorina's endorsement reflects her confidence in her undisputed leadership role at HP, her comfort in meeting with technologists and a willingness to accept oversight and advice from outsiders with more technical experience. It also could deflect criticism that HP has drifted from the engineering roots of its founders, David Packard and William Hewlett. ``The technical direction of the company is not going to come from either one of these two committees,'' Perkins said. ``It's going to come from management, Shane and Carly and the employees. But we are along for the ride to make some comments and possibly some small course changes.'' So we are going to accept outside help but not too much. No... that wouldn't be good???!!? It assumes that everyone inside the company has this omniscient ability and we just need a little tweaking. And this is supposed to usher in a new era of corporate governance? 10:41:06 AM

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