Big Name, Big Boo-Boo

HP gets it backward:

in recent years it put PROFITS first, leaving the design of great PRODUCTS to languish in the land of under-development.

As Apple has demonstrated, if you can build a great PRODUCT, then PROFIT will follow.

Now there is Meg Whitman, who rode the eBay internet elevator to billionaire-dom and then lost a "buy a job" campaign for governor in California, as working hard as  chief executive of Hewlett-Packard.

Whitman was the imploding tech giant's third leader in barely over a year. She replaced Leo Apotheker, a German software executive, who himself had replaced Mark Hurd, who was fired in August 2010 after he "filed a false expense account" but who really was working on a female executive rather than HP products as his top priority.

Meg is a high profile "communicator" with virtually no core experience in any of HP's many lines of sophisticated products, hardware or software.

Too bad ... an example of "the quick and the DEAD"... desperate experimentation and decline ... in high tech. Contrast this to Apple's leadership with Steve Jobs and his laser focus, obsession even, on building incredible products.






What HP could have been...

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Update March 21, 2012

So how is Meg doing?

Shuffling the deck chairs while throwing crew overboard, I would say, but judge for yourself:

"Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, wants to make it clear to shareholders: Hewlett-Packard is about the money. More than anything, Wednesday’s big reorganization is about that.

'The intent behind all these changes is to remove complexity, make it easier to buy, easier to sell, easier to get things done,' Ms. Whitman, the company’s chief executive, said in an interview. “We have to deliver more to the bottom line.'

NYT

It's Just That Simple

Poverty has increased across the country, joblessness is reaching Great Depression-era levels, millions are losing homes, and American optimism has reached new lows.

Oh, and most all of us have spent the last several years losing seeing our retirement money evaporate.

Forbes magazine, the "bastion of capitalism" notes that the richest among us have increased their wealth by vast amounts in one year.

Oh, and Corporate giants like GE are paying little or no taxes... quite legally ... by taking advantange of tax breaks, loopholes, and "business incentives."

“President Obama’s plan to raise taxes will have a crushing impact on economic growth. Higher taxes mean fewer jobs – it’s that simple."
Mitt Romney Simpleton

Yep..

Leaders Aren't Nay-sayers

Have you noticed that the current crop of Republican presidential hopefuls define themselves by what the are against, not by what they are for.

The are against more spending, big government, science being used to guide policy or taught in the classroom, "regulation", any rights for "illegals", interference in markets, any form of compromise, or anything Obama proposes now or in the past..

As I watch the Republican debates, I realize that we are on the brink of a crazy person running our nation. I sit in front of the television and shudder at the thought of one of these creationism-loving, global-warming-denying, immigration-bashing, Social-Security-cutting, clean-air-hating, mortality-fascinated, Wall-Street-protecting Republicans running my country.

James Carvel, CNN

Leader vs Mis-Leader

Tom Friedman of the New York Times nicely summarizes the difference between leaders and what the late, great Peter Drucker called "mis-leaders":

Beginning with Eisenhower and continuing to some degree with every cold war president, we used the cold war and the Russian threat as a reason and motivator to do big, hard things together at home — to do nation-building in America. We used it to build the interstate highway system, put a man on the moon, push out the boundaries of science, teach new languages, maintain fiscal discipline and, when needed, raise taxes. We won the cold war with collective action.

George W. Bush did the opposite. He used 9/11 as an excuse to lower taxes, to start two wars that — for the first time in our history — were not paid for by tax increases, and to create a costly new entitlement in Medicare prescription drugs. Imagine where we’d be today if on the morning of 9/12 Bush had announced (as some of us advocated) a “Patriot Tax” of $1 per gallon of gas to pay for education, infrastructure and government research, to help finance our wars and to slash our dependence on Middle East oil. Gasoline in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, averaged $1.66 a gallon.

But rather than use 9/11 to summon us to nation-building at home, Bush used it as an excuse to party — to double down on a radical tax-cutting agenda for the rich that not only did not spur rising living standards for most Americans but has now left us with a huge ball and chain around our ankle. And later, rather than asking each of us to contribute something to the war, he outsourced it to one-half of one-percent of the American people. Everyone else — y’all have fun.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/opinion/friedman-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but.html?_r=2

President Obama is being rightly condemned for poor leadership and monumental misjudgments about the depth of the hole we are in. But let's not forget who dug the hole to begin with.

Scam Watch: 4Life -- Theirs, Not Yours

A close friend attended a convention/workshop in Kissimmee that -- from 1st appearances -- seemed to offer a great business opportunity: 4Life, a line of health, diet & hormonal supplements based on advanced research.


After expressing my doubts about the wisdom of getting involved in either (1) multi-level marketing, or (2) high-priced diet supplements being sold as a "breakthrough product"... she asked me to do a bit of research... supposedly having a Ph.D. is worth SOMETHING, tho' my friend has always had her doubts!


My initial observations:


(1) An absolutely gorgeous website: http://www.4life.com/ , from which you can order an impressive array of health-related supplements -- for both people and pets!


4Life Transfer Factor supports healthy energy levels by promoting an effective immune system. A smart immune system contributes to healthy energy levels, which can help you have more zip for other things. 


(2) This claim is seemingly supported in detail. It rests on "research" about a world-changing scientitic discovery, something called "Transfer Factor" that was previously being overlooked until entrepreneurs & 4Life co-founders David and Bianca Lisonbee brought it to light:


Combined Transfer Factor sources have been scientifically proven to increase in immune activity more than 437%! (bold added)
This patented manufacturing combination has put 4Life firmly at the head of the Transfer Factor pack, securing its leadership role in what is, without a doubt, the most important immune support product on the market.

(3) I'm sorry, but at this point I'm gone! The above paragraph is nothing but a series of totally unsupported assertions about a vague (but scientific sounding!) catalyst ("transfer factor") for an over-generalized biological process ("immune activity") that has somehow made a distributor of a generic product line ("immune support products") a leading company, (in fact, "the head of the ...pack"). 


Once again, buyer and entreprenuer beware!


For a "get-real" and authoritative explanation of diet supplements that claim to enhance the immune system, see:


http://blog.healthtalk.com/zimney/immune-system-boosters-are-a-scam-part-2/


sample from what this physician has to say:
...even the concept of an immune system booster is essentially absurd. Except at the vaccine level of detail, whereby you get immunized against a particular foreign organism, there’s just no way to “boost” immunity across the board. It just doesn’t work that way.

http://skepdic.com/vitacon.html

http://www.quackwatch.com/02ConsumerProtection/dshea.html

http://www.casewatch.org/fdawarning/prod/2004/4life.shtml

So, David and Bianca are doing quite well... does "making money" at something make it right?

UFirst UFool

Most financial advisers would agree that for many homeowners, an early "paydown" of a mortgage principle is a good way to put any "excess cash" to use... moreover, who would not get a psychological boost from owning a home free & clear?

Now there is a financial services company that provides a "secure, web-based program" that can help anyone with a mortgage, "be mortgage free in less than half the time" by combining a sophisticated tracking system for personal expenses and a home equity line of credit;

...is this a convenience perk for loyal customers?

...a customer education system provided with a new service?

...an introductory give-away?

No... a company called United First Financial is marketing this software for $3,500 in a sales pyramid scheme.

Read about it:

http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=25707116&sort=postdate

Seems clear enough what the product is, what it costs, and why it's at best a waste of money, doesn't it?

Now try to figure out what's going on by a visit to the company's sales site:

http://www.u1stfinancial.com/