How do you explain the Hewlett-Packard mess?
First, by observing that organizational crises often seem to make smart and sensible people do foolish things, like panic and point fingers. That said, who did what wrong at HP still remains unknown; perhaps as the fog of war lifts, people will eventually understand which individuals ultimately own the blame in this unfortunate episode.
Lost in all the current intrigue, though, is the fact that the HP mess once again confirms (for us, that is) that governance “experts” have it wrong when it comes to one of their favorite causes, the separation of CEO and chairman. Indeed, some self-designated watchdog groups that rate corporate boards assign multiple goodie points for such a split. And yet, despite the high-minded proselytizing about why the roles should be distinct, HP proves how damaging it can be when they are.
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