Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?
Written by Louis V. Gerstner
Narrated by Edward Herrmann
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Writing in an exciting, fast-paced narrative style, Gerstner takes readers through his experiences at IBM -- from the high-powered recruiting pressure to take the Chairman's position, to first days on the job learning the strengths and weaknesses of IBM, to formulating and successfully implementing a turnaround strategy.
Filled with Gerstner's personal insights as he explores the company, institutes changes, and rebuilds IBM for the 21st century, readers will have unprecedented access to the mind of the CEO. Refreshing and candid throughout, Gerstner pulls no punches as shows readers what he did and why he did it.
Louis V. Gerstner
Lou Gerstner, Jr., served as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 until March 2002, when he retired as CEO. He remained chairman of the board through the end of 2002. Before joining IBM, Mr. Gerstner served for four years as chairman and CEO of RJR Nabisco, Inc. This was preceded by an eleven-year career at the American Express Company, where he was president of the parent company and chairman and CEO of its largest subsidiary. Prior to that, Mr. Gerstner was a director of the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Co., Inc. He received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Reviews for Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?
33 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Gerstner talks about his taking over of a troubled IBM and turning it around. Change from individual fiefdoms and competing satraps to an integrated whole. Push into IT services, and decision to move away from hardware and PCs. Coining of the term and strategy around e-business. Most important quote:"not what you expect but what you inspect" matters for managers. Employees will care most about things you look at. Metrics, passion, culture of winning are all important.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Full disclosure: I was first hired into IBM in 1996 right after grad school and while Gerstner was in charge. I was pretty low in the organization and never really saw the real IBM. I left in 1998. I am now back at IBM after they acquired the company I am working for. I now am seeing the real inside of IBM.If you are looking for a good book from a CEO written from a CEO's perspective, this was an excellent read. It was a brutally-honest, no-nonsense look at what it took to turn around a large failing company. The book never pretended to be more than it was and Gerstner avoided discussing things he did not know. Running a company requires hard choices and Gerstner gives you insight into how that process works.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I didn’t expect to enjoy this material, and it’s still not a genre I expect to dive into often. However, it is extremely well written. The text is concise without being curt, conversational without being flighty. I enjoyed meeting this man (or - at least - the leader he wanted and wants to be)!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It was OK. The first couple of chapters before Lou joined IBM were interesting. Once he joined the book just skimmed the surface of both IBM issues and his thought process. It focused mostly on his successes without including any of the failures that must have taken place. The little bit of history on IBM was interesting. Wish there was more. It was mildly motivating, but overall I did not come away with much. Except loved the quote “not what you expect but what you inspect" matters for managers.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It was interesting to read this as I spent almost a year working for IBM myself in 1998-99. It was interesting to read the story of people well above my pay grade and how they thought and what were the plans. He did visit during my tenure, but I was in training at the time so we missed him.It's an interesting look at a change of culture and change of thinking that took IBM from where it was in 1992 to where it is now. I don't think it could have survived as it was and it will be interesting to see where it goes.I'm sure there are things he left out, arguments and disagreements but overall it's an interesting look at a company changing from being a manfacturer of computers to more of an e-business. It was a hard change, and I saw some of it happen when I was there but I was only a lowly tech support person so it's interesting to get some of the big picture.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A frank and detailed account of how Gerstner took charge of the grand old company at a time when it was struggling, and managed to turn it around. A great read for anyone landed with similar responsibilities in a company, big or small.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I read this book a couple of years ago, and I remember it being very interesting. Definitely a motivating story about how person can affect change in an organization.Definitely a good read for anyone working in the corporate world and wants to learn about change strategy.