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Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)

 

The American Gerstner (pictured right) was IBM's chief executive 1993- 2002 and transformed its profits.

The book describes how he did it.

 

Book summary

 

How Gerstner transformed IBM’s profits 

 Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)

1. “Maniacal” customer focus

Creating a customer obsessed corporate culture.

 

2. Leadership

Gerstner was successful at IBM because of his:

 Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)

a) self-motivation 

This came from his

  • self-confidence.
  • energy and stamina.
  • passion and enthusiasm.

Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)

 

b) visibility

Daily contact with:

  • employees.
  • customers.
  • suppliers.
  • business partners.

Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)

 

c) toughness 

Making difficult decisions like axing thousands of jobs.

 

d) example

  • doing what he said.
  • winning people’s respect.

 Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)

e) strategy implementation

Successfully implementing a new customer focused strategy based on selling customer services (see point 3).

 

3. Making change happen

IBM’s new strategy was effectively put into action through:Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)

 

a) communication

Clear communication of the strategy.

 

b) motivation

Motivating people through:

  • high performance standards (for teams and individuals).
  • responsibility for results.

 

c) urgencyLou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance (2002)

Creating urgency was made easier by IBM’s financial crisis in 1993 when Gerstner took over.

 

d) valuing key people

Gerstner particularly valued IBM’s research staff, because technological expertise was its main advantage over competitors.

 

Key quote on corporate culture

Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game – it is the game.

 

Key quote on strategy

Execution is really the critical part of a successful strategy.

 

Key quote on leadership

Execution – getting the task done, making it happen – is the most unappreciated skill of an effective business leader.

 

 

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