Re: Comment on Corporate Culture(link)
by: skeptically 03/10/02 12:40 pm
Msg: 276272 of 276273
For those who aren't or don't wish to register with the NY Times, a link to the IBM/Gerstner article:
qw2001.quicken.com; ntlink=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/10/business/yourmoney/10LOUU.html?ex=10235 98800&en=544ea91b1f3dcd64&ei=5002&partner=INTUIT
March 10, 2002
He Loves to Win. At I.B.M., He Did.
By STEVE LOHR
HE revival of I.B.M. (news/quote) over the last nine years is most tellingly measured not in numbers but by its return to pre-eminence as the industry leader. Once again, I.B.M. is the model others follow.
Consider the strategic debate behind the fevered proxy fight at Hewlett-Packard (news/quote). Its planned purchase of Compaq Computer (news/quote) makes sense, Hewlett-Packard says, because the merger will make it more like I.B.M. A dangerous delusion, reply the deal's opponents. Who, they ask, could possibly compete broadly with I.B.M.?
Even the main question these days about I.B.M.'s future lends perspective. Sure, the skeptics say, I.B.M. is back with a vengeance, a powerhouse in the marketplace with strong profits. But, they ask, how much growth can be expected from a corporate giant with sales last year of $86 billion?
In 1993, when Louis V. Gerstner Jr. became chairman and chief executive, the question asked about I.B.M. was whether it would survive. And in choosing him, the I.B.M. board had taken a historic gamble on a professional manager with no experience in the computer industry.
Last Monday was Mr. Gerstner's first day at I.B.M. bearing just one title — chairman. He will keep it until year-end, then depart. On March 1, he was succeeded as chief executive by Samuel J. Palmisano, a 29- year I.B.M. veteran who built up the vital services business, which now represents about half of I.B.M.'s revenue and profits.
The rearview mirror holds little interest for Mr. Gerstner, who is 60. Yet in a lengthy interview last Monday at the company's headquarters in Armonk, N.Y., he reflected on his worries in taking the job, the challenges he faced and the reasoning behind his crucial strategic, organizational and technical decisions there. He spoke of where he thought I.B.M. had been smart and where luck had helped a lot.
He spoke of matters beyond I.B.M. as well. He explained why he believes there is no new economy, a statement that prompted boos from the dot-com world when he first made it in 1999. He answered the criticism he received in the industry in 1993, when he said, "The last thing I.B.M. needs now is a vision," and explained why he was right. And, ever the outsider in the computer business, he discussed what he thought was special about the industry, what was ordinary and what still irritates, even amuses, him about it.
Mr. Gerstner also offered a bit of personal reflection. After leading three large corporations and achieving vast personal wealth, he said that the enduring thrill of being a chief executive — and the part he would miss — was really quite simple. "I love winning," he said, pausing briefly before answering the question emphatically. "I love the process of leading an institution and being part of an institution that succeeds, that wins. I get excited by our success. I get very frustrated by our failures, too, but I enjoy the game."
At I.B.M., the Gerstner record is mainly a success story. "Lou Gerstner re-established the company's belief in itself," observed Andrew S. Grove, the chairman of Intel (news/quote), who has known I.B.M. as a partner and competitor for more than two decades. "It's hard to describe how beaten down that company was."
When he took the job, Mr. Gerstner, a former McKinsey consultant who went on to become pres |
