I CONVINCED HP'S BOARD TO BUY PALM FOR $1.2B. THEN I WATCHED THEM KILL IT IN 49 DAYS

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Phil McKinney convinced HP's board to acquire Palm for $1.2 billion in early 2010 by demonstrating to the board how Palm's WebOS represented a breakthrough platform technology that could differentiate HP in the emerging mobile computing market. A few months after the acquisition, HP's CEO was replaced and McKinney faced a medical emergency that required immediate surgery and an eight-week recovery period confined to bed. During his time in recovery, McKinney was unable to participate in meetings or provide strategic input, resulting in the entire mobile computing landscape at HP unraveling as the new CEO brought a completely different strategic vision. HP ended up discontinuing all WebOS devices just 49 days after it launched the TouchPad.