Fiorina: Good or Bad for McCain?
So in the last month or so, there’s been a massive pileup going-on of my weekly Businessweek subscription, and this weekend I finally took some time and starting going through them. I came across an article about some of the latest on McCain’s campaign and was surprised to read that former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, whom I knew had recently supported McCain on the campaign trail, was just appointed to serve as McCain’s public spokeswoman and as a people’s advocate for the RNC. Old news for some, new news for me. Either way, interesting choice though I’m not quite sure yet what to make of it.
The PRO’s:
- She is a marketer and a saleswoman; and very good in both roles
- Fiorina knows how to sell a vision and her skills in this area could really help elucidate McCain’s vision for the future, a point of communication that he's struggled with throughout the primaries. Moreso if O'bama takes the democratic nomination - McCain's campaign message will need to be very clear
- She has a 6-year run on her resume as the former CEO of HP which could strike a chord with like-minded business-folk who respond to innovation and thought leadership
- Some believe that while her leadership with HP ended in embarrassment, the growth strategies that she advocated for and pushed through, were largely responsible for the rising margins and profits that came under her successor (Hurd). Even just one year after her "resignation" HP gained a 4% PC market share lead over Dell and brought in higher reveneues than both Dell and IBM that same year
- Her rise to the top of the corporate ladder, going from secretary to CEO, is both extraordinary and inspiring – particularly for young[er]women working. McCain struggles to win-over the twenty-to-thirty something crowd and particularly young, professional women. Fiorina’s story could give his campaign some leverage with that voter segment
The CON’s:
- She was forced out of her 6-year run as CEO of HP, and her exit was not shall we say an “amiable” one. She was at the center of a merger so contentious, the son of HP's founder came out against it in a public boardroom fight.
- Fiorina is a "straight-talk" kind of gal. Combined with McCain's "let's be real" approach- it's reality overload. People want the real deal from their leaders but people also want to be inspired.
- Her offshore outsourcing policies will be sure to draw heavy fire from states in the northeast all the way down to the bible-belt south where skilled labor industries and programming jobs have been hit hardest thanks to offshore outsourcing. Her management practices along with McCain's "real talk" economics won't go over too well in these states. **I was surprised that McCain put Fiorina on the campaign trail with him in Michigan; a move that will surely bite him in the ass later**
- Though she inherited a monster that was on it's way down when she took over in 1999, Businessmen and investors will remember the troubled 6 year span under her leadership and the relief-day when HP stocks jumped 11% on the announcement of her departure.
- She’s been described in numerous public forums not as a leader who leads, but as a leader who looks to burnish her own image. Her position in McCain’s campaign could be seen as a means to get the ball rolling for her own career in politics – taking away from McCain’s spotlight
- The perceived image of Fiorina’s self-serving nature could perpetuate the notion that the RNC is a party of the rich and of the…well, self-serving
I'm leaning towards this being a not-so-smart move in the broad scheme of things but as yet, I'm still undecided. So, is Carly a wise choice for the McMan (or the RNC for that matter)? Can her business acumen win over Romney supporters? Will business-minded voters turn and run the other way?
Questions, questions..
Labels:
News and Politics
5 comments:
I don't think Fiorina will do much harm for McCain. Your average voter doesn't know anything about the HP debacle or her role in the Compaq merger. Your average voter will be more impressed by the fact that she's the only woman to be named CEO for a dow-company. That's enough to impress even me-secretary to CEO, post law-school dropout?? The woman's got brass.
I personally don't care for "Fiordiva". I think she was the ruin of HP who lived on strong internal brand ethics--her management style and "self-serving" public image put the company in a production hole, not to mention being a shitkicker for morale. But really, all that only matters if y ou keep up to speed with business. Most --don't.
I think John's sartorial choice of "rep" ties will have a larger impact than Carly. McCain must be thinking that he can fire her in October and receive a poll bump along the lines of HP's stock bump when they gave her the boot. In the end, it will just remind people that not only does McCain not understand the economy, he also does not understand business.
Craig is right, Fiorina was a disaster at HP. And her claim to fame -- Lucent -- was an illusion based on cooked books. McCain better hope that she has no impact on his campaign.
your "mcman" is a mcidiot. picking carly as his spokesperson just proves it (not that we didn't already know). the repubs just don't seem to have a clue. they keep making partnerships with all the wrong people, and then they expect our vote and wonder why they aren't getting it.
idiots. down with the repukes!
Deanna says- "Fiorina is a "straight-talk" kind of gal."
Hmmm, I remember this gal...The reason she stepped down was because she was a not a straight talk kind of gal. She was a scammer and was caught recording conversations. Do you call this straight talk. Althought McAmnesty is the only choice we have on the ballot, why would he want to distort his campagne even more?
Dan-
Which "rep" ties are speaking of specifically?
David,
In most cases I would agree with you but I don't believe that "straight talk" and "behind closed-door" activities are mutually exclusive concepts 100% of the time.
Having said that, Fiorina was not charged with anything; rather, it was several people on the board who were charged with that felony (some of the same folks who were at odds with her during her tenure and pushed for her eventual ousting). They were recording conversations of employees, investigators, and other people tied to the business, who were suspected of leaking information about company dealings, and of leaking rumors that the board was looking to oust Fiorina (right about the same time that Fiorina was shopping around to replace people on the board).
Now there were also "deep dive" investigations for anonymous employee tips (something which I suspect all large companies have to protect themselves against scandal and fraud) - i.e., the employee hotline received an anonymous tip about a child pornography ring at one of the HP factories - a deep investigation was started and people were fired. Right, not right – whatever.
Now, I’m not defending Fiorina’s management or leadership style or necessarily Fiorina in general, but I don’t think that the phone tappings are entirely on her plate. They happened under her leadership and so yes, to a degree, she is accountable but some of those circumstances were being conducted by the board – and not always in her favor.
Whatever the details, I still think she’s a straight talker – she’s been pretty candid during her interviews and I suspect she will maintain that.
In so far as McCain choosing her - you and Crispy are both right, it's not a smart move to have your national campaign associated with someone who's got such a checkered history - guilty or not guilty.
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