Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina interviewed with us via phone, discussing her presidential ambitions and more.
By Jacob Engels
Over the past month, Carly Fiorina has been upping her public appearances and guest spots on national talk shows – testing the waters for a possible 2016 presidential bid. Focusing on tapping the raw potential of each and every American, Fiorina has remained focused on getting the United States in order – starting with reigning in an out of control government. Our interview with her is below, including a lightning round asking what her favorite bands, film and political figure in the past 100 years.
You have risen from working in a hair salon to head honcho at a Fortune 500 company. Tell us about your journey and how it has made you who you are.
Starting in a hair salon and as a secretary, I never planned on becoming a CEO. I have always loved a challenge and am consistently drawn to solving problems. From my time as a secretary to becoming CEO of Hewlett Packard, I found that you have to tap the potential of the people around you. Most aren’t ever asked their opinions on how to solve a problem, but have solutions that work.
By involving a diverse and wide-ranging group of people in the problem solving process, you help unlock the potential in those around you. We all have considerable gifts and have so much to contribute.
Through the Unlocking Potential Project, you have laid the groundwork to identify and address conservative issues that directly relate to women. What should motivate women to vote Republican and embrace conservative ideals?
Every issue is a women’s issue, we are 53% of the vote and there is not one thing that does not effect our lives. Women remain one of the most underutilized resources in our country and the world.
Conservative ideals just work better at unlocking potential. We don’t believe in separating people into groups or sub-sets of society, we are all Americans and should not be divided by anyone. Our policies are grounded in the ideal that we all have immense potential and should have the opportunity to fulfill that potential.
Does the fact that you have never held elected office help or hurt your presidential ambitions?
Not being a career politician is a plus, and actually, I think it helps. We have so much that is broken and wrong in our government and political process. Voters have figured out that to get change, you need something different, someone different.
We need a citizen leader. Politicians and pundits want us to believe that only career bureaucrats and politicians have the right to serve, and that only they can fix what is wrong with our country. They are wrong.
What would a Carly Fiorina presidency look like? What role would women, minorities and millenials have in your administration?
The most important thing a leader can do is tap every ounce of human potential. Everyone needs a seat at the table and everyone has the talent and ability to contribute – women, minorities and millennials.
I believe that these groups have not had the input they deserve. If you want the best decisions – you need a diverse group of people. It might be easier to surround yourself with people who look like you, talk like you and think like you.
However, the best decisions are arrived at when people from all walks of life and backgrounds are brought into the decision making process. It may take more time this way, but the end outcomes are without a doubt always better.
The most important problem America currently faces?
The biggest problem really has two sides to it. One one side, we see that possibilities are being crushed for too many people and on the other – and that an overbearing and corrupt government is the one crushing those possibilities.
Government is too big, too powerful, too corrupt and unresponsive. Americans are tangled in a deep web of bureaucracy. Small and family owned businesses are getting lost in unnecessary regulations and a far too complicated tax code. Too many Americans are being crushed by our government.
Lightning round – favorite band, favorite film and political figure in past 100 years.
Secretariat is my favorite film, hands down. When it comes to my favorite band, I’m torn. Music for me is tied to the memories you share with people when you first hear it and at concerts or parties. The Doobie Brothers, Hall & Oats and The Eagles top my list.
I’ve shared so many wonderful experiences and created a lot of memories with my husband of thirty years listening to them. Over the past 100 years, my favorite political figure has to be Margaret Thatcher.
You can learn more about Fiorina by clicking here or following her on Facebook and Twitter.
Jacob Engels, is the Founder of East Orlando Post & Seminole County Post. He is a seasoned political operative who has led numerous statewide political groups and has worked on several high-profile local, statewide, and national races. Jacob has been interviewed on national television & radio programs, with his work having been featured in the Orlando Sentinel, New York Times, Washington Post, Miami Herald and other publications nationwide. He can be reached at info@eastorlandopost.com
