Shares of Hewlett-Packard were sharply up today following the announcement that Carly Fiorina, the company's CEO, would be leaving. I guess shareholders aren't exactly disappointed.

They shouldn't be. I have little doubt that Fiorina will do great things with another company sometime soon. But her decision to merge HP with Compaq was not only wrong, but also conflicted with explicit opposition stated by directors and large shareholders. Combining HP and Compaq has been a huge undertaking, dragging the company into lethargy and leaving it with little definition.

The next leader's first project should be to break up the company. When components of a conglomerate are set free, shareholder value is released as the independent entities realize their full potential. HP makes great printers, and the company should think more in terms of improving its printer business operations and efficiency -- and setting up clever partnerships (not mergers) with complementary service or product providers.