ORLANDO, Fla. — Having managed the
merger of two information technology industry giants, the chairman
and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Co. has some advice
for the Homeland Security Department: Get a plan and stick with it.
Carly Fiorina, who was involved in the merger of HP and Compaq
Computer Corp. during the past two years, said it is imperative to
have goals for every week, every month and even every year as the
new department integrates 22 federal agencies under its umbrella.
"It's not rocket science to say this. Once milestones and goals are
established, you have to stick with them. You can't change them,"
Fiorina said March 3 at the Information Processing Interagency
Conference meeting here.
Fiorina outlined the steps HP took to integrate the two companies
and keep business moving even as the infrastructure changed. She
said the biggest surprise was how quickly people wanted to get on
with the business of working as one company after the merger.
The Homeland Security Department, with 170,000 workers, faces
similar challenges to HP and its 140,000 employees, in making sure
the right business decisions are made while redefining roles.
Fiorina noted that the department faces the question: "How do we
prevent attacks in the United States while integrating [170,000
employees] with different cultures and IT systems?"
She said the answer involves detailed planning of processes, people
and technology. When in doubt, she said, "Our customers became our
tie-breakers."
Fiorina also advised that it is imperative to manage horizontally as
well as vertically. Highlighting that point, she said HP clients
insisted that they wanted to meet with one HP representative, not
four representatives from different parts of the business.
Among the most important initiatives is communication, she said,
using an intranet and keeping employees informed about what is
happening.
"You cannot command the battlefield if you cannot communicate," she
said.
Fiorina has met with officials from the new department to discuss
HP's experience in standing up a new company after merging two of
the world's biggest IT firms.
After her speech, she planned to meet with private-sector and
government representatives, including Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden, the
director of the National Security Agency, to talk about HP's
experiences.
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