How much did Carly Fiorina make at HP and was it worth it?

[mrstickball]

Mr Khan said:

mrstickball said:

Right. That is the business cycle. Its a continuous thing. Inventors and entreprenours build something to greatness, progress technology in theif field, retire, then someone else usually (not always the case, there are a few exeptions) runs the business into the ground. Although it is sad to see such things take place, there really is no way to avoid it. Of course, the government tries to regulate it and flatten the damage, but usually hurts other startups in the process. Imagine Henry Ford having to deal with the current regulatory structure involving factories and the many requirements of a road-legal vehicle today.

Which is an unfair comparison to make, because Ford was working in what was at the time a frontier market. Regulations come in with regular industries, which he wasn't playing in. That's part of the reason why the big entrepreneurs of a given era are working in frontier industries, because it's a lot easier to set the terms of a market you create, rather than one defined by big competitors and the necessary and unnecessary government regulations (being street legal is about preventing environmental degredation and human death, two things that are pretty inarguably good)

But what if your not in a frontier market and develop a radical departure of technology, yet are still constrained by overburdensome regulations?

For example, the Tesla Motor Company. They are trying to save the environment via superior electric cars, but are getting hit with regulations due to the manufacturing process.

It happens more than you'd think. Look at Rockefeller and Standard Oil. Oil production certainly wasn't new, but he established a radically different shipping and extruding process that drove costs down from $1.00/gal to $0.10/gal in a matter of years. Likewise, Sam Walton entered a very crowded retail market, and developed modern processes for inventory management to work out large volume orders with manufacturers, which led to significantly lower prices at retail stores vs. competitors.

I mean, heck, there are cars out there right now that get 70MPG that aren't legal in the US due to regulations - despite the fact they are running in Europe. Shouldn't such vehicles be allowed in the name of reducing oil dependance and reducing emissions? Yet due to our regulatory structure, such products are banned or require significant modifications that may destroy the price/value proposition or fuel efficency.