I've had an opportunity recently to witness two tech CEOs perform for a gathering of financial analysts: Mark Hurd of HP and Jonathan Schwartz of Sun. The contrast in management styles and vision couldn't be more striking -- a contrast made more poignant when one considers that both companies slug it out daily on the floor tiles of practically every data center in the U.S.
Hurd is Mr. Numbers. He can rattle off the size -- seemingly to the dollar -- of each of HP's approachable market segments this year and each of the next five years (geographic segmentation included). If, as an HP executive, you want to get him to buy into your new product idea, bring your best HP calculator to the meeting. Here's a well-worn quote Mr. Numbers likes to recite: "You can only manage what you can measure." I'll bet he hands out T-shirts at company picnics emblazoned with that motto.
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