http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2011/09/26/did-poor-communication-skills-undo-hps-ceo/
I read the article "Did Poor Communication Skills Undo HP's CEO?" The article talks about how Leo Apotheker, HP's former CEO, was most likely fired due to his lack of excellence in communication skills. Apotheker's poor communication skills could have been caused by one or more of the following barriers to effective communication: filtering, selective perception, and information overload just to name a few. Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, was hired in his spot. Interviews with HP board members focused on a common theme of comparing Apotheker and Whitman as communicators. HP Chairman Ray Lane said, "The market's a little confused because we're in so many different businesses. This is 90 percent about leadership, communications, and operating execution." I belive communication should make up part of the 90 percent Lane stated. Communication is extremely important in an organizations success. Up to 90% of a manager's time is spent communicating and a manager's performance is directly related to his or her ability to communicate effectively.
As part of being a skilled communicator Whitman is most likely an excellent listener. It is not only important to be able to communicate an idea, but to be able to hear and understand ideas and thoughts of other employees. Whitman is going to need a way to effectively communicate the vision to HP's 320,000 employees and millions of investors. Whitman will need to use all of the types of communication, verbal, written, and nonverbal communication, to articulate the vision. When communicating face-to-face with someone it is important that Whitman uses the right body language for the scenario that she is in. For example looking someone in the eye from the United States is considered to be a sign of trustworthiness or using the right facial expression to portray a particular mood. Although it may be hard for Whitman to talk to all 320,000 employees personally, she should use an information channel that is high in information richness to spread her vision such as a face-to-face conversation, videoconferencing, or telephone conversation. Whitman can use a press release to convey the vision to stockholders and customers or e-mail customers directly. Whether Whitman can effectively communicate the new vision could be the factor on whether she is accepted as the new CEO or rejected by employees and investors.
Was firing Apotheker the right decision? Apotheker could have prevented himself from being released from his job if he had made himself a better communicator. What do you think he could have done to make himself a better communicator? How important do you think communication skills are for a CEO? Was hiring Whitman a good idea for HP in the long run? What is she going to need to do to articulate the new vision? How can Whitman effectively communicate the new vision to all employees, investors, and customers?
-Steven Stanek
I think that firing Apotheker was the right thing to do for HP. If Apotheker had stayed in control of HP and not changed his poor communication skills the company would have fallen apart. Good communication is vital to a company in exchanging ideas or goals. It lets the employees know what is happening in the company and what they can look forward to in the future. Nonverbal communication is also important for a CEO to have because that is how a company leader feels about what he is saying. If the CEO would talk in a lifeless form in front of an audience, the public would think that they don’t care about the company. If they talk in an energetic tone, it would lead consumers to know that they believe in the product and think it is the best. Apotheker could have tried to increase his communication skills by taking classes or asking for help. Getting fired for poor communication skills makes me think that Apotheker didn’t even try to improve himself for the best of the company.
ReplyDeleteHiring Whitman was a positive move for HP. She will be able to let the public know what HP stands for and where they are heading in the future. Hopefully Whitman can restore the public and the stockholder’s faith in HP by effectively communicating about the company. She will need to show her true passion about the company non-verbally and them make sure she listens to the consumers and take their feedback to make new products. Whitman will also need to express the company goals to the employees and then have more enthused workers.
--Kristi Rudin