Meg Whitman breaks the Teamsters’ rule, is right regardless

HP CEO Meg Whitman, at the company’s annual meeting of its shareholders, made the pitch to investors that the company hasn’t lost its mojo, and that it still matters. In the age of Instagram sucking down half-billion dollar valuations, companies like HP can appear stodgy, and antique.

Whitman vehemently disagrees with such thought (the following quote via ZDNet):

HP matters. Without HP, the United States Navy can’t deploy ships. British pensioners don’t get their checks on time. Healthcare doesn’t get delivered. [The space station doesn’t function.] If HP doesn’t work, the world doesn’t work.

Take that Instagram. However, this raises the historical rumor of the great leader of the Teamsters Union, who was pressed by Congress as to whether his labor group really was as powerful as was rumored. The union boss replied, “Look, senator. Being powerful is like being ladylike. If you have to say you are, then you probably ain’t.”

Alright, so Whitman failed that test, but was right in spite of it. HP is a simply massive distributor of hardware, software, and services. The firm has its tendrils up and down the PC and larger computing supply chains and sales channels; companies such as Fry’s and Best Buy lean on HP to provide much of their in-store silicon.

That Meg had to explain this almost details an investor pool that is perhaps a bit too focused on hype, and less on fundamentals, but at least the pitch is being made. Chug on, HP, Windows 8 is coming.