Lou Gerstner takes his audiences inside the early ’90s meltdown— and subsequent turnaround—of what arguably had been the world’s most successful business enterprise. When Gerstner arrived at IBM in the spring of 1993, he discovered a company sliding rapidly into financial ruin, a hidebound culture, and a demoralized workforce. Gerstner describes the issues, decisions, big bets and the fortunate breaks that re-established IBM’s market, financial and technical leadership. He also provides a unique perspective on the critical inter-relationships between strategy, execution and culture, and focuses on a handful of overarching business and leadership lessons that transcend industries, technologies, or economic cycles.
Participants in this program will learn:
- Why leadership is personal and what it takes to build a great team
- Why a strategy can only take you so far
- The importance of an organization’s culture and leading by your principles
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As chairman and CEO of IBM, Lou Gerstner navigated one of the most dramatic turnarounds in corporate history. With unparalleled business acumen, he revived IBM—a company whose very existence was in question in 1993 and made it into one of the most dynamic, customer-focused, and value-driven companies in the world. Gerstner’s recent best seller, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?, profiles his IBM experiences and the lessons he learned over the course of more than 30 years in business. Prior to joining IBM, he served for four years as chairman and CEO of RJR Nabisco, Inc., 11 years at the American Express Company, and prior to that he was a director at McKinsey & Company.