http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903791504576584852598066360.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

Okay, so let me get this straight.  H-P’s stock has been cratering since Leo Apotheker announced he wanted to get out of the PC business.  The company has no smartphone worth looking at.  The company’s tablet is horrendous.  The PC business is a long term money losing business – by the way this is from the same PC industry analysts who are pushing for Leo Apotheker to be fired.  These same analysts say the PC business margins stink.  Given all of this, the board and shareholders are mad at Leo Apotheker for what; getting out of a money losing business, taking a chance at entering a high margin business?  Oh my gosh, what in the world are people thinking?

My suggestion is that the board ought to fire itself.  Every bad thing that has happened to H-P happened on the same board’s watch with 3 different CEOs; you can also include the decision to buy Autonomy.

Is firing Leo Apotheker a way to placate the panicked investors?  If so, does anyone think Meg Whitman will save the company?  The company is so far behind the smartphone business the only thing it can do is wave bye-bye to the sector.  The company does not have a tablet worth looking at, not unless it has one of those on-going fire sales I used to see as a kid on Delancey Street where vendors were perpetually going out of business.  The tactic is a bit low-class but darn it works; you move inventory.

So, what exactly will Whitman do that is any different than Leo Apotheker?  I guess Whitman can pour tens of millions of dollars into a new smartphone and a new tablet.  Gee, that certainly would be an original idea; maybe something "new and hot" will come out of that in 2 or 3 years.  Talk about a day late and a dollar short.

According to media reports, Chairman Ray Lane has taken the position the company has always under spent in software and services.  I agree.  However, Leo Apotheker’s plans support that view so why does Lane want to fire Apotheker?  Does Lane believe Leo Apotheker cannot execute his plans properly?

Ideas versus execution are two completely different matters.  An idea may be sound however, whether or not someone can execute the idea is another matter.

Maybe Apotheker ought to be fired but his ideas are sound.