Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?

About the Author

Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. is a renowned American businessman best known for his transformative role as the CEO of IBM from 1993 to 2002. Born in Mineola, New York, in 1942, Gerstner attended Dartmouth College and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Before joining IBM, he held leadership roles at McKinsey & Company, American Express, and RJR Nabisco. Gerstner's career is marked by his reputation as a turnaround specialist, capable of revitalizing struggling companies. His tenure at IBM is particularly noteworthy, as he led one of the most significant corporate turnarounds in history, bringing the company back from the brink of bankruptcy to a position of renewed growth and innovation.

Main Idea

"Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?" chronicles Gerstner's experiences and strategies as he led IBM through a tumultuous period. The book is an inspirational narrative about overcoming immense challenges, adapting to rapid technological changes, and re-establishing a company's identity in a highly competitive industry. Gerstner argues that even a giant corporation like IBM, often likened to an elephant for its size and inertia, can be agile and responsive if led with the right vision and determination.

Table of Contents

1. Laying Down Expectations
2. Gerstner's Greatest Accomplishments
3. Holding the Vision
4. Reinventing Big Blue
5. Addressing Corporate Culture
6. The Culture of "No"
7. Principled Leadership
8. Lessons Learned

Laying Down Expectations

Upon his arrival at IBM, Gerstner quickly identified several critical issues. The company was losing customer trust, struggling with internal politics, and hampered by a confusing performance measurement system. He launched "Operation Bear Hug," a program where senior management personally visited IBM's major customers to understand their concerns. This initiative was pivotal in re-establishing customer trust and aligning the company's focus with customer needs.

"Operation Bear Hug was about listening to our customers. It was a way to break down the barriers and start understanding what they really needed from us." - Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.

Gerstner also dismantled the Management Committee, which had become a bottleneck for decision-making, and replaced it with a more dynamic Corporate Executive Committee (CEC). This move was designed to streamline the decision-making process and foster a more agile organizational structure.

Customer-Centric Changes

• Personal visits by executives to top customers to directly address their concerns.
• Revamping the sales process to make it more responsive and less bureaucratic.
• Implementing a new performance measurement system focused on customer satisfaction.

Gerstner's Greatest Accomplishments

One of Gerstner's significant achievements was resisting the pressure to break up IBM into smaller units. He believed in the value of IBM as a unified entity, capable of integrating various technologies to offer comprehensive solutions. This vision led to the creation of IBM Global Services, a division that provided end-to-end IT solutions to customers, going beyond just IBM products.