Bang. Just after I got off the phone with you guys talking about tablet makers actually shipping that we have a bonafide tablet maker talking about actually shipping. Incoming HP CEO Leo Apotheker talked with the WSJ today about the challenges his behemoth faces.
Considering Mark Hurd essentially drove HP into the innovation weeds, shipping more and more boring product year-in-year-out, Leo has a big job ahead of him. He notes that HP is full of innovation but that no one is telling the HP story:
H-P is an extraordinary company that has managed to keep much of its greatness secret. H-P needs to rekindle its innovation capabilities, H-P needs to come closer to some customers, and H-P needs to tell its story.
Basically they need to get all of the WebOS stuff out the door in the next two months and keep iterating. To my point about actually shipping, Leo is well versed in the problems big companies like his face and he’s ready to push things forward.
We need to get way more business done in markets other than the U.S. We need to speak to our customers as one H-P. We need to fire up our innovation engine and get our products to market faster. It’s not that we aren’t innovative; it’s that it takes too long to get to market.
Here’s hoping someone other than the WebOS faithful is listening.