Leadership?

I spotted a piece in EE Times the other day that says Carly Fiorina is taking a seat on the board of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., one of the giants in chip manufacturing. The item went on to note that Fiorina is also working on a book for this fall "about her career and her views on such issues as what constitutes a leader, how women can thrive in business and the role technology will continue to play in reshaping our world." What constitutes a leader? Pardon me while I dry the tears of laughter from my eyes, and make ready to file this weighty tome on the shelf next to books from such other luminaries as Gil Amelio and John Sculley. Fiorina led Hewlett-Packard precisely nowhere in her tenure there, except into a needless $21 billion buyout of Compaq, and barely avoided the company's front door hitting her butt on the way out. I also note that pension funds invested in HP stock are suing the company for allegedly awarding her an excessive golden parachute of $42 million. One can't blame them, but there's certainly an argument that the money was worth it to get her out of there and clear the way for Mark Hurd, who seems to pay far less attention to publicity and more to how he can lead HP in an increasingly competitive market.

Given the positions she continues to land and the money she's made, maybe Fiorina does have more insights on how women can thrive in business, but I honestly can't see how she continues to. I guess all that attention to image (albeit at the expense of coherent company strategy) is paying off for her, though.