CAN HP GET IT TOGETHER

When some of Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) board members became concerned about leaks to the press six years ago, they hired investigators to spy on fellow directors and reporters—creating a high-profile scandal. Then, HP's board tried to distance itself from controversial Chief Executive Officer Carly S. Fiorina by replacing her with Mark V. Hurd, a relatively unknown numbers guy from the Midwestern cash machine maker NCR (NCR). That back-to-business move worked—until a sexual harassment allegation from a B-movie actress-turned-marketing consultant triggered Hurd's abrupt resignation and a soap-opera-level feud between him and the HP board. Bloomberg