Best & Worst: Hewlett Packard redefines "poor decision making"

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst 2006. If you think this was the dumbest moment in business, cast your vote here.

What were Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) executives thinking when they allegedly authorized the unlawful accessing of records and conversations to get to the bottom of leaks that appeared as if they were coming from inside HP's board of directors?

The executives -- and HP chair Patty Dunn among them -- probably thought they were acting in the best interests of the company and HP shareholders in trying to find out who continued to leak stories and confidential information to the outside world. A few small snags arose, though -- the means by which all this spying took place contained loads of illegal activity, although as an executive officer I would have wanted to track down leak sources as well -- even inside my own board.

Regardless of the nepotism on the board and who-knows-what-else political bickering, the first duty is always to the shareholders. Protecting confidential information from outside sources that could impact market price and other factors is right up there. Does the HP spying scandal count as one of the dumbest moments in business of the year? Well, it gets my vote for #1 -- how about you?