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Women of power
Feb. 24th, 2007 08:53 amWe've had a couple more great speakers come by Google in the last couple of weeks. Last week it was Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Carly was once considered the most powerful woman in American business until she was ousted from HP. At the time she was ousted she was vilified, but HP's recent scandals have cast her departure in a new light.
I've always been a Carly fan. My sense from the talk is that HP's recent troubles have opened up an opportunity for her to step back on the world's stage, and she's positioning herself to run another big business or run for public office. If she runs for something, I'd vote for her in a heartbeat.
After her talk she was signing copies of her book, and I was pleasantly surprised that she recognized me. I'd asked a question during the Q&A period, and as she was signing I thanked her for taking my question. She said, "You look familiar to me, have we met?" Indeed we had; during my previous career the video production company I worked for had done a lot of work for HP's senior management. Good memory, Carly!
Yesterday's surprise guest speaker was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. She was very articulate and has a surprisingly commanding presence. She was mostly preaching to the choir about issues such as green energy, climate change, the Iraq war, technological innnovation, universal affordable health care, improvements to education, and similar liberal hot-button issues. I couldn't help comparing her to Carly, who felt more impassioned and wore her morals on her sleeve. In contrast, Clinton seemed more pat, polished, and political. Clinton didn't have anything to say that wasn't from the safe harbor of liberal American values, and not really much to say that she probably hasn't said a thousand times before. In fact, she'll probably repeat the same things a million more times while she's on the campaign trail. It wasn't that she was bad, she was good -- I just wasn't blown away.
It's too early for me to form an opinion on the presidential race. I have a strong suspicion that the Democratic ticket will end up being Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton. If the Republicans nominate McCain, I think I'm going to have a hard time deciding.
I've always been a Carly fan. My sense from the talk is that HP's recent troubles have opened up an opportunity for her to step back on the world's stage, and she's positioning herself to run another big business or run for public office. If she runs for something, I'd vote for her in a heartbeat.
After her talk she was signing copies of her book, and I was pleasantly surprised that she recognized me. I'd asked a question during the Q&A period, and as she was signing I thanked her for taking my question. She said, "You look familiar to me, have we met?" Indeed we had; during my previous career the video production company I worked for had done a lot of work for HP's senior management. Good memory, Carly!
Yesterday's surprise guest speaker was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. She was very articulate and has a surprisingly commanding presence. She was mostly preaching to the choir about issues such as green energy, climate change, the Iraq war, technological innnovation, universal affordable health care, improvements to education, and similar liberal hot-button issues. I couldn't help comparing her to Carly, who felt more impassioned and wore her morals on her sleeve. In contrast, Clinton seemed more pat, polished, and political. Clinton didn't have anything to say that wasn't from the safe harbor of liberal American values, and not really much to say that she probably hasn't said a thousand times before. In fact, she'll probably repeat the same things a million more times while she's on the campaign trail. It wasn't that she was bad, she was good -- I just wasn't blown away.
It's too early for me to form an opinion on the presidential race. I have a strong suspicion that the Democratic ticket will end up being Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton. If the Republicans nominate McCain, I think I'm going to have a hard time deciding.
