tough choices

Behind the headlines — one of the most talked-about business leaders in the world tells her own story.

By accepting the CEO job at Hewlett-Packard, an iconic company that had lost its way, Carly Fiorina confirmed her status as the most powerful businesswoman in America. But she also made herself a target for everyone who disliked her bold leadership style and resented her rapid rise.

For six years, as she led HP through drastic changes and a controversial merger, Fiorina was the subject of endless analysis, debate, and speculation. She appeared on the cover of every major magazine and her every word was scrutinized. Yet in all that time, the public never got to know the person behind the persona.

Tough Choices will finally reveal the real Carly Fiorina, who writes with brutal honesty about her triumphs and failures, her deepest fears and most painful confrontations — including her sudden and very public firing by HP's board of directors.

It's an amazing life story: Fiorina was a liberal arts major and law school dropout who didn't even consider a business career until her mid-twenties. But soon she was blazing through big jobs at AT&T and then Lucent Technologies, with a growing reputation as a creative, hardworking, visionary leader. Her career path would have been remarkable for anyone, but in an industry dominated by men, it was unprecedented.

Tough Choices shows what it's really like to lead a major corporation in a time of great change while trying to stay true to your values. It's one woman's inspiring story, along with her unique perspective on leadership, technology, globalization, sexism, and many other issues.

"Fiorina may have had tough choices, but readers have an easy one: start at page 150 and read the Hewlett-Packard story first. As Carly Fiorina, the famously fired CEO of HP, vividly dissects the company's business, board and structural problems, her management views and talents are clearly visible. She also makes a compelling case for why she deserves some credit for the 2005-2006 turnaround. Less compelling are her claims that her introduction as CEO of HP was marred because 'the one question we didn't prepare for was the question most frequently asked... about my gender.' (Uh-huh.) When Fiorina dishes the board members, it's delish, especially when citing George 'Jay' Keyworth's stated belief that 'anyone who had leaked confidential Board conversations to the press shouldn't be allowed in the boardroom.' (A wonderful irony since he initially refused to resign during the recent HP scandal when he was revealed as the source of confidential leaks.) Much of what Fiorina writes about the board will be in the news around this book's release, but her revelations are valuable beyond gossip because shareholders are demanding accountability from boards, it's fascinating to be inside a deeply dysfunctional boardroom. And it's just plain fun to see her settle some scores. The start of her memoir, however, is a tedious telling of her rise through the corporate ranks at AT&T and Lucent. It's not clear exactly what the business challenges were the main thing she emphasizes about Lucent is her fondness for the 'bold, red logo.' These early chapters are filled with numbing passages: 'In other words, our value-add would be to get everyone on the same page. Any organization is stronger when people are aligned to act together, instead of working at cross-purposes.' While I didn't come away with a sense of Carly Fiorina's personality much of what she writes about herself is unconvincing her book does shed light on the complexities of running a giant corporation. I also learned that I'd bought into media coverage of Carly Fiorina that was superficial at best and misleading at worst. I owe her an apology for that, and she owes her readers one for not hiring (or heeding) a good editor to make her message more riveting." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"[Signature] Reviewed by Robin Wolaner Fiorina may have had tough choices, but readers have an easy one: start at page 150 and read the Hewlett-Packard story first. As Carly Fiorina, the famously fired CEO of HP, vividly dissects the company's business, board and structural problems, her management views and talents are clearly visible. She also makes a compelling case for why she deserves some credit for the 2005 — 2006 turnaround. Less compelling are her claims that her introduction as CEO of HP was marred because 'the one question we didn't prepare for was the question most frequently asked... about my gender.' (Uh-huh.) When Fiorina dishes the board members, it's delish, especially when citing George 'Jay' Keyworth's stated belief that 'anyone who had leaked confidential Board conversations to the press shouldn't be allowed in the boardroom.' (A wonderful irony since he initially refused to resign during the recent HP scandal when he was revealed as the source of confidential leaks.) Much of what Fiorina writes about the board will be in the news around this book's release, but her revelations are valuable beyond gossip — because shareholders are demanding accountability from boards, it's fascinating to be inside a deeply dysfunctional boardroom. And it's just plain fun to see her settle some scores.The start of her memoir, however, is a tedious telling of her rise through the corporate ranks at AT&T and Lucent. It's not clear exactly what the business challenges were — the main thing she emphasizes about Lucent is her fondness for the 'bold, red logo.' These early chapters are filled with numbing passages: 'In other words, our value-add would be to get everyone on the same page. Any organization is stronger when people are aligned to act together, instead of working at cross-purposes.'While I didn't come away with a sense of Carly Fiorina's personality — much of what she writes about herself is unconvincing — her book does shed light on the complexities of running a giant corporation. I also learned that I'd bought into media coverage of Carly Fiorina that was superficial at best and misleading at worst. I owe her an apology for that, and she owes her readers one for not hiring (or heeding) a good editor to make her message more riveting. Robin Wolaner is the founder of Parenting magazine, former CEO of Sunset Publishing and author of Naked in the Boardroom: A CEO Bares Her Secrets So You Can Transform Your Career (Fireside, 2005)." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Ms. Fiorina is at her best when recounting the travails of a woman in a male-dominated business culture.... [She] is also good in her psychological descriptions of the constant betrayals that occur in corporate bureaucracies. The woman that emerges from these pages is cultured, sensitive and vulnerable, even as she acts tough." -- The Economist

Carly Fiorina was president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005, and chairman from 2000 to 2005. Before joining HP, she spent nearly twenty years at AT&T and Lucent Technologies, where she held a number of senior leadership positions. She has a B.A. in medieval history and philosophy from Stanford University, an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland, and an M.S. in business from MIT's Sloan School.