Rating: 
Summary: May be I like this book since I am no IBMer!
Review: I am glad I read the book before reading the reviews on this site since my perceptions of Gerstner's narration did not get coloured by some of the writings on this site! It is also possible that being a non-IBMer, I may have taken many of the pronouncements in the book on a face value as compared to the guys who probably had a personal and possibly more insightful encounter with Gersten's leadership style from within the organization.Anyway, all said and done, I must confess that the book and its contents have impressed me a great deal. Some of the key impressions I walked away with after reading the book are: a. Lou is a no nonsense leader, somewhat like his other famous contemporary CEO - Jack Welch. A total focus on execution and very little tolerance for usual organisational BS!
b. But, unlike Jack, Lou does not come across as a guy full of himself! The fact that Lou starts with a broad disclaimer that this book is no autobiography but simply his account of what happened at IBM in last decade tells you a lot about the difference in two personalities.
c. Although it is obvious that both men were looking at e-business from rather different perspectives (one as a technology provider and other a user of technology), it is probably not coincidental that both of them were amongst the greatest proponents of e-business and recognised a huge opportunity in leveraging e-business for their respective businesses.
d. Till the end, Lou remained faithful to the initial pronouncements he made immediately after joining IBM about "vision". The book is short on "CEO Vision stuff" but full of illustrations on his obsession with execution and painstaking but vital details required for successful organisational transformation. The section that left the greatest impression on me was chapter 26 - where Lou debates about lessons learnt from "centralization vs. decentralization". Having seen many CEOs struggle with the critical issue of trying to create a "synergistic/integrated" strategy, Gerstner's candid but insightful observations on this vital issue were indeed insightful. For someone who has been visibly successful in driving a synergistic/integrated strategy for a mammoth organization like IBM, it was pleasantly surprising to see Lou caution other business leaders from blindly adopting the "synergy/integration" mantra! Hope such warnings from a veteran who has been there, do not fall on deaf ears. Business acumen and the guts to step back and take a fresh look at critical issues rather that blindly following the prevailing "industry trends" and "analyst wisdom" is what make an extraordinary leader stand out in the crowd. By going against the prevailing wisdom that downsizing the organization by spinning off smaller size nimble entities is the only "viable" approach for IBM, Gerstner not only managed to successfully preserve IBM as a US "national treasure" but forcefully demonstrated that for those who dare...there is always a better way forward! Judging by other reviews on this web site, some of my above observations may look rather oversimplified and naïve to the guys who had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of Gerstner's brash style. However, as they say - the proof of the pudding is in eating! Seeing an "integrated IBM" of today with robust financials and a dominant industry position is any day a much better proposition than attempting a hypothetical "what if" analysis about a disparate group of "baby-IBMs" that may have resulted from the break-up of IBM a decade ago!
Rating: 
Summary: Inside the IBM Revolution
Review: A kingdom grows and prospers by conquering new lands. For years it stands virtually unchallenged. Things change. It loses battles to new competitors, and shrinks. Their aristocracy seeks a winning strategy from a new general. Forces are withdrawn from areas not worth contesting to reinforce areas where the battle is critical. Having accomplished his mission, the general retires. The kingdom is now in better shape for having shed their colonies. THINK of an overloaded lifeboat (Boston case in 1850s). The first mate reduces the number of passengers, allowing most to survive. The blame should be on the situation, not the correction. (My condolences for those thrown overboard.) Or pick your own parable. This is written for a general audience, but not everyone will benefit from the contents. I think a lot of stories were left out. This easily read book shows Gerstner would make a good journalist. Gerstner's first and basic decision was to reduce the cost to mainframe customers. They used CMOS transistors (like in home computers) for a lower cost, and IBM renewed its emphasis on customers. This reversed the decline in mainframes and saved the company. The loss of billions required drastic cuts, not just in a bloated administration, but in surplus productive employees. Expenses would have to drop faster than the decline in gross profits (p.63). Page 59 says "competitors in the computer industry, unlike any other industry I know, try to create unique standards that they own". This is the result of Anti-Trust Laws that allow you to put a generic tire on a Chevy or Ford. Page 64 tells of the fiefdoms of multiple accounting systems, and the need to update and simplify them. Didn't General Motors go thru this same trial around 1982? Page 66 tells of the sale of "unproductive assets". Page 72 mentions the interaction between ability and morale or reputation. Gerstner's proudest accomplishment is that his successor and the heads of all major business units are longtime IBM veterans. This happens when a company brings in outside consultants to do what is needed, and then leave. Page 257 mentions the "wild pronouncements" like "the paperless office" (people want tangibles, and read in may places), or "dot-com universe" (people want social interaction). Did these originate as customer demands? Chapter 28 underlines the problem of a corporation. High-level managers who get rich through fraud or embezzlement is not new; read the history books for similar events from the 1870s to 1930s. Today's dot-coms are like yesteryear's railroads. Was the media flaunting the "new economy" a few years ago? Doesn't the business side of the media always control the editorial side? Gerstner mentions the role of "investment bankers" (p.260); they have been the most powerful members of our ruling class since the 18th century. Pages 261-3 list some common sense cures. A company controlled by its owners is better than a corporation run by hirelings. Page 271 explains the difference between "cash flow" and "revenue". Chapter 30 asks about the corporation and the community. Before the 1860s no corporation could be chartered unless it served a public purpose (canals, waterworks, railroads). Corporate contributions may be a vestige of this tradition. Preventing companies from incorporating unless they served a public purpose would answer this question.
Rating: 
Summary: Gertsner tries to Justify why he ravaged a 85 Year old Compa
Review: This book puts in perspective what Gertsner did while at IBM. His callous disregard for employees and the lives of long hard working employees is obvious as he describes "How he made the Elephant dance". Sure, IBM was in trouble in the early 90's but IBM wasn't the only one, every company gets in trouble at some point. When the corporations realized that the PC was not going to replace mainframes, the turnaround was easy to implement and IBM was postured well when large capacity mainframes were required and necessary for the Fortune 500 to do reliable business. Was it necessary to throw out the principles that built IBM over 85 years into one of the most admired companies in the world? I think not, and now it is questionable of whether IBM will ever come back, to what it was before, a Great Company to work for and for the world community. Not mentioned in this book was that Gertsner walked away with $630,000,000 Million in net worth, gleaned in part from "creative accounting". His successor at American Express was one of four who determined his compensation, of which he has more than 600,000 stock options left to be exercised now that he has left IBM. This is a good book, about a man who has an ego as "Big as an Elephant" who did absolutely nothing to make IBM a better Corporation for the global economy. He just made money for himself and lots of it and this book is a sad attempt to justify his methods.
Rating: 
Summary: Some true stuff, some wishful thinking
Review: As a departed employee of many years, the book provided little to capture my attention except to learn that Lou did at least have some grasp of the gridlock and culture problems resulting from chronic political infighting in the management ranks. There was no sudden clarity for why his apparent reign of terror was good for IBM, its customers, employees or the communities. Developing a good understanding of the situation inside of the company, but without a clue of how to compete in the industry, he develops a plan to keep IBM solvent. Indeed, IBM was a place where the brown spots in the lawns were painted green prior to a visit from the CEO. How much can a CEO actually know in a place like that? Lou neglects to discuss that his plan was to sell the seed corn, slash, burn and reap whatever was left of intrinsic value for personal gain. Basically, his plan to save the company was to 1) Surround himself with loyal friends. 2) Fire anyone that could get in his way. 3) Buy everyone else out with stock options and the resulting fear of loss 4) Sell every asset possible to generate cash. (including trees from un-used land) 5) Shut down every business that lost money. 6) Lay off everyone possible that contributed to pension liabilities. 7) Raid the remaining pension fund and use that cash to prop the stock price. 8) Make stock price the primary objective for everyone. 10) Ride the dot-com bubble to the top and bail out. 11) Write a book to justify his actions so he could sleep at night. Nowhere in the book does he mention anything about the rank and file, the thousands of families that lost their homes, ability to send kids to college, and lifetimes to prepare for retirement. Little is mentioned of any effort to develop new businesses, or describe technological initiatives, or the creation of anything. Nowhere does he describe the untold wealth he accumulated through his vast stock options. There are almost no stories about encounters with anyone interesting except a couple of backhanded swipes to the likes of Bill Gates. There are virtually no facts or numbers to back him up other than some very selective charts in an appendix. If you are looking for a book to tell you how to save a company, this is not it. If you are looking for book to learn how to be a great leader, this is not it. If you are looking for a book to learn how fouled up a big company can get, and how to leverage that for personal gain well, you will get that, but you have to read between the lines to put those pieces together.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite insightful
Review: I joined IBM about 9 months ago, so this book was interesting to me in understanding some of the culture of my new company. But I also found it generally quite well written, and very easy to read --- I finished the whole thing in a few hours on a plane.
Rating:
Summary: Good Bio
Review: I was a bit amused & surprised to see the extreme, differering reviews posted here. To me, this book certainly deserves 5 stars for its simple, straightforward style and Gerstner's pin-point diagnosis & prescriptions and of course results.
To those who says he was a heartless tyrant, I say you cant run a huge corporation effectively by being a wishy-washy. To those who accuses him of self-centredness and self-aggradisement, I say well ... he deserved what he got by producing results - we are living in a capitalistic world . . . . finally for those who says that he made it on the expense of thousands of lay-offs, I say get a new pair of glasses ... look at those people's jobs he saved, and the economic turmoil he prevented had a corporation of 300,000 employees bankrupt.
Rating:
Summary: Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnar
Review: This is an excellent book giving a birds eye view on how a large, successful company can deteriorate to a level that is destroying the company and yet insiders are virtually oblivious to the actual impact their actions are playing in that demise. How an outsider is sometimes needed to help them see the way out. I think Mr. Gerstners skills as a consultant and especially his experience as a significant IBM customer were significant to the turnaround at IBM and gives clear examples how a person does not have to be an expert at a specific business to lead it to higher ground. I really appreciated the strategic planning and reasoning provided by the writer as to the direction IBM took on mergers and acquisitions and the reason most of the proposals were best left alone. Growth for the sake of growth is not advisable if it is not strategic to the core of the company's goals. This is a good, easy read and relatively captivating book. It does get a little lengthy, and the many letters at the end of the book are only interesting to get a better view inside Mr. Gerstner. Actually, I found them enlightening, but not always portraying the message he actually intended, at least not as strong as he thought he made it.
Rating:
Summary: A Bold Leader
Review: This is a fascinating account, written by the man who orchestrated it, of the historic turn around of IBM. In 1993, IBM was heading to extinction; mired in the tradition and culture of its own success, it was unable to respond to the pace and behaviors of the new economy. Through relentless determination to return IBM to profitability, Gerstner sold what many would consider significant assets and developed ideas that were considered risky by the established wisdom. A significant section of the book concerns the work done to change the culture of IBM. While this turnaround was the most significant to the success of the venture, it was also the most difficult to accomplish. He turned the popular wisdom on its ear by exposing that "vision is not the same as "strategy. It's very easy to develop visions. It's the same thing as Babe Ruth pointing to the fences". Customer focus ruled the day, with quick responses to their needs. Leadership was brilliant in understanding that Service would become a vital part of the industry and became the niche that IBM was perfectly suited to inhabit. "Who says elephants can't dance?" is a fast paced read, hard to put down and written in the style of a novel. It holds the readers interest with unfolding developments and exciting outcomes. I would recommend this book for people who are interested in the new network economy and the companies that rule the day. Also for anyone in a leadership position, this book has invaluable support for making the hard decisions.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting read especially if you are an IBMer
Review: Being an IBM employee at that time and having lived though the first 6 months of Gertsner's reign, I see that Lou has chronicled quite accurately the events during the remaking of the New IBM and rationally explaining some of the decisions that were made at the time. Its amazing how much bitterness still remains from those bloodletting days as shown in the previous reviews. All in all though, despite the pains from the early days and the constant critiscms from both inside and outside of IBM, Lou has done a really good job as CEO and this book simply explains what was happening at the time and why some decisions were made the way they were made. I give credit to where credit is due and I recommend this book to all former and current IBMers.
Rating:
Summary: Where is my review ?
Review: I wrote an honest opinion and followed the guidelines. But my review never appeared. What's up ?
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