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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Elephants Can Dance!, April 28, 2003
Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? is Gerstner's chronology of and reflections on the years that he ran IBM. He details the situation that he faced when he left RJR Nabisco for IBM and how he was unsure initially as to whether he could turn the company around. Gerstner outlines the steps that took and the policies that he put in place to change the strategy and culture of the company. He notes that when he came, IBM was a company where you were "guaranteed" a job for life, even while the company was laying people of by the masses. He also points out that as opposed to competing with their competitors such as Unisys, HP, Dell, Oracle and others, most of managers time was spent in internal political contest. Through a strategy of listening to customers' needs, eliminating the compensation and recognition systems that created the internal fiefdoms and partnering with customers, quasi-competitors and other industry leaders, he was able to restore IBM to a more stable position within the industry. He also changed the perception of the company from the conservative black suit, white shirt previously required to be worn by all employees to that of a dynamic company which became synonymous with e-business (a term coined, incidentally, by IBM). As Gerstner says towards the end of the book, his strategy was based on a simple concept, that of an elephant dancing: While an elephant stands still, ants can scurry around the floor, but if the elephant can dance, all of the ants will be forced from the floor. Will the strategies Gerstner mentions work for others? Potentially -- Gerstner cautions against simply trying to drop his strategies into other situations. If nothing else, knowing what worked at IBM (and more importantly what didn't work and how it was fixed) provides additional management tools for us all. The book, which was written entirely by Gerstner (no ghostwriter, etc.), is remarkably candid. Gerstner outlines the areas where he feels he succeeded and those where he failed or which remain a qualified success. He also highlights the struggles along the way and the way he refined and changed his programs over time. Gerstner's candidness is really this book's greatest strength and will make it a business-classic in the years to come.
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 Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround 0060523794
Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
Collins
Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround
Books
Elephants Can Dance!
Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? is Gerstner's chronology of and reflections on the years that he ran IBM. He details the situation that he faced when he left RJR Nabisco for IBM and how he was unsure initially as to whether he could turn the company around. Gerstner outlines the steps that took and the policies that he put in place to change the strategy and culture of the company. He notes that when he came, IBM was a company where you were "guaranteed" a job for life, even while the company was laying people of by the masses. He also points out that as opposed to competing with their competitors such as Unisys, HP, Dell, Oracle and others, most of managers time was spent in internal political contest.
Through a strategy of listening to customers' needs, eliminating the compensation and recognition systems that created the internal fiefdoms and partnering with customers, quasi-competitors and other industry leaders, he was able to restore IBM to a more stable position within the industry. He also changed the perception of the company from the conservative black suit, white shirt previously required to be worn by all employees to that of a dynamic company which became synonymous with e-business (a term coined, incidentally, by IBM).
As Gerstner says towards the end of the book, his strategy was based on a simple concept, that of an elephant dancing: While an elephant stands still, ants can scurry around the floor, but if the elephant can dance, all of the ants will be forced from the floor.
Will the strategies Gerstner mentions work for others? Potentially -- Gerstner cautions against simply trying to drop his strategies into other situations. If nothing else, knowing what worked at IBM (and more importantly what didn't work and how it was fixed) provides additional management tools for us all.
The book, which was written entirely by Gerstner (no ghostwriter, etc.), is remarkably candid. Gerstner outlines the areas where he feels he succeeded and those where he failed or which remain a qualified success. He also highlights the struggles along the way and the way he refined and changed his programs over time. Gerstner's candidness is really this book's greatest strength and will make it a business-classic in the years to come.
J. Straub
April 28, 2003
- Overall: 5
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Location: Cleveland Heights, OH United States
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