HP's Carly recalls boardroom hell

WE'VE ALL worked in bitchy offices where the stiletto is never far from the back, no matter how saintly one's own behaviour, but there can't be many more dysfunctional families than that described in Carly Fiorina's imminent memoir Tough Choices.

To be released on Monday, excerpts and snippets from early reviewers suggest that Carly could have said with Kenneth Williams, "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me!", here.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, not too many characters in the cast come out too shiny by Ms Fiorina's reckoning.

Among the highlights:

Michael Capellas: The former Compaq CEO was vulnerable to mood swings and once called Carly after midnight to complain angrily about her refusal to accept a retention payment.

Patricia Dunn: The departed HP chairwoman saw the Compaq deal as a way to "quit talking about the HP Way".

George Keyworth and Tom Perkins: The departed board members developed an alliance and Keyworth wanted Dunn out.

Fiorina also records her disappointment at the way she was ousted from the top job at CEO. More details from the 336-page tome are due to emerge on US TV show 60 Minutes on Sunday and in Newsweek on Monday.

Business Week reports a deliciously understated remark by current CEO Mark Hurd regarding the TV spot.

Hurd said he will watch the Fiorina appearance "if I'm around, and if it's on in the room I'm in."

Amazon is offering the book with its Perfect Partner choice, Robert Harris's Imperium - a novel about the politics of Rome circa 1BC. µ