Session 2: Tough Choices

Intro: segment from “60 Minutes” (?) about her firing from HP. The board apparently never gave her a reason for firing her. Never had a talk with her about her performance. Her only conclusion is that it is personal.
Hybels: Don’t blame the culture if you aren’t improving your leadership
Hybels: [Strongly encourage] All you you should read this book [Tough Choices, by Carly Fiorina]
Parent’s influence

Views them as a gift
Integrity matters. [Also two other things I missed]
Education: learn about the things that interest you. Took philosophy courses on the side in college.

Was fascinated that the human race seems to learn [over time]
Logic taught her the power of the right question. Sometimes the answer is not as important as asking the right question.

Her parents’ approval was important to her. She assumed that she should go to law school to be like her dad. Hated law school. In the shower one morning, she realized that it was her life and she could do what she wanted and that she should do what she was passionate about.

I was a very insecure girl. Afraid even when her parents went out to dinner.
Learned to see fear in others and discovered that all of us are afraid of something.
The more you confront it [the fear], the easier it is to not be afraid.

Her first big meeting was held in a strip club. Decided that she needed to be there for it, so she went. Ended up being a rather uncomfortable meeting for everyone concerned, but after that her associate (who had scheduled the meeting) respected her and they had a good working relationship (although neither of them discussed that meeting).
Prejudice exists. People are afraid of people who are different.

If you are different, accept that if you are different, your experience will be different.
But don’t make their prejudice your burden.

Essential.
Management is accomplishing acceptable results within known constraints. Leadership is motivating people to try something new.
People are afraid of change. Need to give them a vision that is more compelling than their fear.
Need to be real about how much effort it will take.

Need to keep learning in order to lead others
Need to provide those opportunities for others. This takes resources and effort.

Passion: this is obvious—need to have it
Dispassion: have enough objectivity to know reality. Sometimes someone does not have the skills, ability, character, etc. and cannot make the journey. Dispassion is the ability to see the truth.

Authenticity, realness is essential. Fame puts a barrier in-between you and your followers, because people see the label and not the person. And people don’t see you as owning the vision anymore.

“I don’t like the name ‘HP Way’ because it will turn into whatever people want it to mean.” Dave Packard
It came to be something that people threw up when they didn’t want to do something. “We can’t do that. It’s not the HP Way.”
People followed the letter of the HP Way, but no longer the spirit.
HP had “innovate” as a core value, but they didn’t take risks. Innovation is about taking risks.

All previous decisions by the Board and her and been unanimous.
Two Board members wanted to reorg the company a certain way. It wasn’t a good idea, and Fiorina refused, although she compromised on some issues. They were upset, talked to a Wall Street Journal reporter. Fiorina took them to task—need to be able to deliberate in confidence. 10 days later she was fired. The Board never talked to her—sent her out of the room, she was called back in 3 hrs later, no one was there and she was informed that she was fired and it was suggested that she could say it was her idea. (Would have been easier, but not true, and she couldn’t say that she did the best she could [to God?].)
She was very team-oriented with the Board. She knew that the company was in trouble going in and knew that the Board needed to buy into it. Worked with them as a team and all decisions (until the end) were unanimous.