Learn more about gerstner s life and career, including his work with other businesses. Dec 09, 2002 every confident man is shaken up at least once in a while, and for louis v. The book is interesting, even for longtime ibm followers, because it is gerstner s own story. Transforming culture who says elephants cant dance. Well cover the lessons lou gerstner can teach you about leadership and the most important qualities for a successful leader. Lou gerstner shares some blame for ibms current mess, according to new book louis gerstner may have saved ibm, but he also endowed it with some bad habits that haunt it to this day, according to a. Jun 07, 20 the first paragraph of every obituary on louis v. This book is dedicated to the thousands of ibmers who never gave up on their company. Phoenix, dec perhaps the most remarkable thing about lou gerstner s book who says elephants cant dance. Feb 07, 2011 in my blog gerstner and the ibm turnaround. The first one on the list is a business and its beliefs, by thomas j. Gerstner was not a technologist and he knew it and he didnt mind you knowing it. This is a book which summarizes lou gerstners leadership of ibm during a time they were facing insolvency, and talks about bringing the.
Now at the helm of carlyle, the private equity firm, he can maintain his privacy in both home and business affairs. May 12, 2015 thats what lou gerstner did in the 1990s, when the board at ibm brought him in to turn around the almostbankrupt company. Wardley maps an illustration from gerstners book part. Shortly after lou gerstner was introduced as ibm s ceo in the spring of 1993, he met with the companys corporate management board roughly the top 50 people in the company. Leadership lessons and turnaround tactics of ibms lou gerstner. Who says elephants cant dance inside ibms historic.
Lou gerstner shares some blame for ibms current mess. Buy who says elephants cant dance leading a great enterprise. He was a virtual recluse when it came to interviews and public appearanceshe doesnt try to hide his disdain for the mediaso his words offer a rare opportunity to hear his point of view. Lou gerstner s unvarnished account of the great ibm turnaround is refreshingly free of ego and literary ambition. Lou gerstner led ibm from the brink of bankruptcy and mainframe obscurity back into the forefront of the technology business. Leading a great enterprise through dramatic change gerstner jr. Ibms prospects for survival are very bleak, wrote the authors of the book computer wars.
May 29, 2019 ibm s board of directors had chosen a list of suitable candidates for the leadership position and lou gerstner was at the top of the list. In january 2003 he assumed the position of chairman of the carlyle group, a global private equity firm located in washington, d. Jun 18, 2019 despite the fact that ibm, then and now circa. Gerstner called his listening tour operation bear hug. Sign up for bookperkdaily bookish finds, fantastic deals, giveaways, and more.
When gerstner became ceo of ibm in 1993, shares were in free fall and the company was on the verge of collapse. Jan 10, 2020 he took over ibm at the request of the board of directors, who realized the company was in trouble, and turned the company around. Lou gerstner thought the enormous corporate elephant could dance as gracefully as its much smaller competition. Aug 21, 20 gerstner s father, louis gerstner jr, 71, became the ceo of ibm in 1993. This is a well written book, very practical and full of information on how lou gerstner saved and transformed ibm. The book explains how important is execution, focus and behavioural change. He is largely credited with turning ibm s fortunes around. Gerstner served for four years as chairman and ceo of rjr nabisco, inc. Aug 04, 2003 this is a well written book, very practical and full of information on how lou gerstner saved and transformed ibm. Lou gerstner talked about this in who says elephants cant dance but lou also recognized in his book how certain parts of the culture that will continue to give the company a unique. Gerstner jrs memoir about the turnaround of ibm and his transformation of the company into the industry leader of the computer age. The book gives great insight into ibms lumbering pc division, which is dubbed as the companys vietnam by one industry executive quoted by garr. Gerstner s career, though, spanned 43 years which also included more than a decade at mckinsey, senior positions at american express, and four years as chairman and ceo. Lou gerstner on corporate reinvention and values mckinsey.
The book, with the working title ibm redux, attributes big blues turnaround to the leadership of big lou. Gerstner, one of the most accomplished chief executives of his time, knows this. Leading a great enterprise through dramatic change book online at best prices. May 28, 2020 greg writes, when lou gerstner took over at ibm in 1993, the centuryold tech giant was in dire straits. Nov 11, 2002 gerstner will retire from ibm in january. It was a muchneeded change of leadership in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
He became ibms ceo in 1993, when the gargantuan company was near collapse. Listen, my children, and you shall hear the incredible saga of how ibm nearly died and was revived by lou gerstner. At the time, the technology giant was in dire straits, but gerstner was able to transform the struggling company on the. I recently read a book that proved to be a valuable business restructuring case. The majority of experts were aghast on hearing the selection. The internet had arrived and our lives and the way we worked were never to be the same again. Louis v gerstner a quintessential organizational leader. In this edition, page numbers are just like the physical edition.
Jan 07, 2010 this is a well written book, very practical and full of information on how lou gerstner saved and transformed ibm. Lou gerstners dramatic transformation of ibm from a dying company into a nimble giant when lou gerstner took the helm at ibm in 1993, the company was headed toward bankruptcy. Although he has his critics, gerstners book tells how he turned ibm from a. Robert slater tells the tale of ibm s turnaround after it nearly sank under the weight of institutionalized arrogance and failure to heed advancements in the industry it had dominated.
Told in lou gerstner s own words, this is a story of an extraordinary turnaround, a case study in managing a crisis, and a thoughtful reflection on the computer industry and the. Gerstner spilled the beans in his book on ibm dec 16, 2002. Many motivational books recommend find your own style and be you are. Below are key excerpts that i found particularly insightful in this book, detailing the turnaround that louis gerstner engineered at ibm in the 1990s. Phoenix, dec 27 when word got out last spring that the former ibm chairman and ceo, lou gerstner, was writing a book about his years at ibm, some of our clients and friends urged this writer to do a biographical juxtaposition. This book describes some of the details of his early, premckinsey life that werent previously in the public domain.
Lou gerstner will always be known as the man who saved ibm after resuscitating, then reinvigorating, the near bankrupt company when he took over as chairman and ceo in 1993. At ibm, lou gerstner was a famously private individual. Gerstner it happened on one of his early days at ibm. For those who follow business stories like football games, his tale of the rise, fall and rise of ibm might be the ultimate slowmotion replay. Jul 02, 2004 when lou gerstner was named as ibm s ceo in march 1993, the company which had virtually invented business computing in the 1960s had just 100 days left before the cash ran out.
I strongly recommends this book to any one passionate about change management, transformation, leadership, customer focus and strategy execution. The book gives great insight into ibm s lumbering pc division, which is dubbed as the companys vietnam by one industry executive quoted by garr. An inside look at one of the greatest business stories of our day. Feb 25, 2021 lou gerstner, american businessman best known for the pivotal role he played in revitalizing the ailing ibm in the mid1990s. Jun 09, 2014 the conventional wisdom about ibm s ibm is that louis v. In fact, his book is a blueprint for managing any kind of organization. Many believed that it needed to be broken up into smaller, more focused units in order to compete.
Wardley maps an illustration from gerstners book part 2. How lou gerstner saved ibm executive effectiveness. Once the companys finances were back afloat, lou gerstner started the. Elephants is the story of ibm s unlikely turnaround, told in first person by gerstner. In january 2003, he assumed the position of chairman of the carlyle group, a global private equity firm located in washington, d. Upon starting this book, i felt like i was listening to a rather large ego telling me how. Financial challenges, a rigid corporate culture and a. Contends that ibms growth under gerstner has been lopsided.
When i saw callies blog, my mind went back 20 years to the time lou gerstner came to save ibm from potential disaster. The presumption was that gerstner had joined ibm to preside over its. He retired from that position in october 2008 and remains a senior advisor to. Lou gerstner and the business turnaround of the decade, harperbusiness, 1999. After a twelvehour day at work, he asks, who would want to go home and read about someone elses career at the office. Taking readers deep into the world of ibms ceo, gerstner recounts the highlevel meetings and explains. I believe it might be of interest to briefly outline of his achievements so as to. Gerstner, the rjr nabisco executive who became ibms ceo and chairman in 1993, righted the ship, taught the elephant to dance, and insertwhateverturnaroundmetaphoryouwant here. Gerstner quarterbacked one of historys most dramatic corporate turnarounds. He remained chairman of the board through the end of 2002. After several rounds of discussions, the hiring team felt that lou gerstner would be the right person to lead the company. Three weeks into his job as the newly installed chairman and ceo in 1993, gerstner was presiding over his first meeting at the company on the topic of strategy. Some of the less complimentary books pointed out that ibm should have changed its culture more quickly in the 1980s and i would certainly agree with that.
Robert slater tells the tale of ibms turnaround after it nearly sank under the weight of institutionalized arrogance and failure to heed advancements in the industry it had dominated. Overtaken by nimbler upstarts, like microsoft in software, compaq in hardware, and intel in microprocessors, it was hemorrhaging money. Phoenix, dec perhaps the most remarkable thing about lou gerstners book who says elephants cant dance. When lou gerstner arrived as ibm s newest ceo in 1993 after what the new york times called the most vividly watched talent search in the history of american business the worlds premier corporation was hemorrhaging money and teetered on the verge of breakup.
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