[radicalamericannationalist]

"In regards to compensation, anyone is worth what someone else is willing to pay."

Yes but that boards of major corporations, not unsophisticated actors here, have negotiated that individuals who have been in your words "Fired. Canned. Pink slipped. Shown the door. And otherwise pursuing other interests in which their former employers have wished them luck" shows something is very wrong.

Did Ovitz and Fiorina seem like good bets? Sure. But does a deal that makes you a multi-multi-multi-millionaire in spite of colossal failure seem like a good bet? Would you hire an employee and say, "Oh, by the way, even if you are a complete screw-up and I fire you, I will pay you gobs of money?"

[durasell]

Far be it for me to defend screw-ups (though Ovitz was amusing), but the folks you mentioned would have been quite a bit richer had they been successful. And I'm not going to blame someone for making the best deal they can when taking a job.

I would imagine, the available talent pool for those kinds of positions is pretty thin. I'd say there's probably under 100 guys capable and willing to run HP. And each of those guys is looking to make the best deal they can.