Steve Jobs leaves apt rebuke of Hewlett-Packard
Imagine Apple without the MacBook Air or the iPhone.While HP is not Apple, there would be little left to hang a hat on if HP jettisoned its PC business.I had a discussion with Bod O'Donnell, an analyst at IDC who follows HP closely, about this (related to HP possibly spinning off its PC business).Hardware is the face of HP, according to O'Donnell. I agree. All of those EliteBook, Envy, and ProBook laptops are hard, tangible, three-dimensional representations of what HP is: first and foremost, a hardware company.And don't tell me that the thousands of engineers and designers at HP can't come up with a groundbreaking laptop or tablet. (The Touchpad had a decent shot at success.And it would have improved over time.)I own a MacBook Air now, but I'm not wedded to Apple.And I like HP laptops (which I've owned in the past). Particularly, the EliteBook and ProBook lines.My point is, that's what HP represents to me and I'm sure millions of others--and this drives buying decisions. If HP offers an attractive laptop, such as the ProBook 5530M, that product improves my image of the company.Just as my opinion of Apple changed, for the better, when it first came out with the MacBook Air in January of 2008.And I've been buying Airs ever since. Of course, this is all above and beyond the well-known arguments that HP gains tremendous leverage and cost advantages with component suppliers by being the No.1 PC maker in the world. Another thing Steve Jobs could relate to.But getting back to Jobs' criticism.You don't build a great company by dismantling it and then trying to clone the strategies of other, less-successful companies.Certainly not if you're HP. Let's hope HP's board is smart enough to see Jobs' rebuke for what it is: good advice.
