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Hewlett
Packard CEO Carly Fiorina made headlines recently by buying back
the garage where Hewlett Packard began. What else is she up to?
Virgo
Vision
When
a Fiorina-led Hewlett Packard (HP) purchased the garage where
the company was founded, Fiorina proudly proclaimed that the garage
was not where HP started, but where Silicon Valley began. The
purchase marks the “Plymouth Rock” of not only Hewlett Packard,
but the modern electronics industry. She created a landmark, while
herself becoming a female business icon.
 An
archetypal Virgo, Fiorina, born on September 6, 1954, seeks to guide HP
through a time of transition both internally and in the exploding, external
world of electronic business. She seeks to re-order, re-prioritize and
establish new levels of production proficiency, all satisfying the nature
of Virgo. Some within the HP management complain that Fiorina’s methods
take too much time, prohibiting an effective workday. But with laser-like
Virgo focus, she consolidated HP’s 83 businesses into twelve. Some of
her methods have shocked traditional management factions, and they have
left HP.
Hewlett
Packard, one of the electronic industry’s most reliable product
manufacturers, took a risk in hiring the female executive. Long
known as a familial-feeling company with dedication to quality
electronics (initially test equipment for electronics, now state-of-the-art
computers), perhaps they felt the need to restore nurturing and
inspiration in a wildly-competitive, testosterone-rich market
place.
Fiorina’s
extensive management background and innovative ideas squeeze inspirational
effort from employees into black ink on paper. And here’s how
she does it.
Electronic
Shock
Fiorina’s
approach is in tune with the classical planetary signatures in
her chart. Consider her Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Cancer,
which squares Neptune in Libra. She describes the need for a few
“well-placed shocks” to inspire employees to “aspirational performance”
and dedicate their “hearts, minds and souls” to her efforts at
HP. Shocks are associated with Uranus, aspirations with Neptune,
the heart with Cancer, the mind with Jupiter and the soul with
Neptune.
Within
this approach, should she succeed, she will become an icon. With
her natal Venus in Libra—an archetypal female image—aligned with
Neptune, the inspirational quality of the feminine can gain recognition
in the business sector. All she has to do is show the other side
of Venus—making enough money (also Venus) to exceed the imagination
(Neptune).
Another substantial
driving force in Fiorina’s horoscope comes from her “dedicated-to-the-quest”
Mars in Capricorn. This obsessively motivated planetary engine receives
assistance from natal Saturn in Scorpio making a tight sextile to it.
The ease of this angle, combined with Saturn’s temperance of compulsion
in Scorpio, mellows the steamrolling effects of active, cadent Mars in
the sign of the ultimate mountain climber—Capricorn’s goat. Though driven,
she can recognize limits when she needs to do so.
Driven
A person
can be driven and yet never seem to get anywhere. But in Fiorina’s case,
she had ambition and others responded, providing her destination. Prior
to coming onboard as HP’s head honcho, she served as an executive at the
innovative, leading-edge Lucent Technologies. A law school dropout with
an MBA, she also served at AT&T, where she rose to steer the telecommunications
global-services business. Some might argue her Venus in Libra (an archetype
of womanhood) with Neptune gave her the figurehead image (Neptune) of
token leadership. Maybe initially. Some at AT&T observed her skills and
sent her to the head of the corporate class. Mars, sextile Saturn, takes
the advantage given and creates results. She implemented, initiated and
turned in results. Her reward is that Fiorina stands as only the third
woman to head a Fortune 500 company.
While
at Lucent, she spearheaded the initial public offering and spin-off
from AT&T, one of the most substantial and successful IPOs in
business history. While leading HP, she turned their growth rate
from an apathetic 3 percent to 15 percent. Described as inspiring
(Venus conjunct Neptune), and intense (Mars in Capricorn), she
shows her merits as a potent team leader (Jupiter the leader).
Can she apply all of her Mars in Capricorn and endure in the patriarchal
capitalistic business culture?
Up
from Below
Throughout
the next year, Pluto in Sagittarius squares Fiorina’s natal
Sun in Virgo. Pluto, the taskmaster, puts her knowledge and philosophy
to his ultimate test. Do they hold up under scrutiny? Are her
initially difficult and time-consuming methods going to yield
higher profits—the kind that Pluto lusts to see? Do spiritually-inspired
employees perform better? So far, all the answers are yes. Success
equals longevity.
While
HP possesses a reputation as a strong family company making products
of unquestionable reliability, the rest of the electronic market
has caught up technically. Watch as Carly Fiorina pulls HP up
from the Underworld (with her Pluto transit) to reinstate their
position as leaders of the technological pack. Too bad it’s too
late for her to run for president.
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