What Life at the Top is Really Like--As Told By a Superb Leader

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	• Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?: Leading a Great Enterprise through Dramatic Change Louis V. Gerstner Collins Business, 2004 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 121 reviews view larger image
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Where Were the Details?

Throughout this book Gerstner discusses the changes IBM made and how he helped turned the company around. I have no doubt that he was a large part of the dynamic shift at IBM to again make it the successful, global company that it is today, but I felt that I went through the book without completely understanding what those changes were. There was a lot of discussion of how IBM was operated and managed when Gerstner took control of the company in 1993 as it was falling apart before the public's eyes, and there was a lot of explanation of how IBM was successful and reborn when he stepped down from the CEO position in 2002. But there was little substance in between. I am not sure if that is because the day-to-day steps taken throughout the mid and late 1990s are too mundane for the average business reader, of if the details were just left out. Gerstner does share some insight into leadership skills and his management style, but IBM as is left in the shadows. All in all, this is not a bad book, but be aware that the reader is left wondering exactly how IBM regained its dominant position in the marketplace.

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Great leader

When I started the book, I have no idea about the history of IBM. I am not an IT person, so I have heard IBM but that is basically it.
I learned a lot from the book about IBM, what they did wrong and how he changed it.
But besides everything he revised the company culture and organizational structure. I think that is the hardest thing a CEO can achieve. His vision, his attention to details but still seeing the big picture amazed me. No wonder they picked him as the great saver of the IBM legend.
The book is long and sometimes repeats itself, without going into details.
The part I enjoyed the most was his e-mails. How encouraging was he after 9/11, he mentioned employee names and all the things they did both to help and also to get their business going. He sent e-mails to his 300.000 employees. His tone and the things he mentions, his clarity was amazing. He is an excellent leader. IBM is very lucky to have such a good CEO.

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What Life at the Top is Really Like--As Told By a Superb Leader

Having spent twenty-three years in management before I became an entrepreneur, I recognize that moving from one side of the desk to the other side may be the longest journey a professional person ever makes. When we shift into a leadership spot, not only do we find that our prior perceptions might have been totally inaccurate, we have to address personal and professional challenges we would have never imagined.

I applaud this book as one man's record of what life at the top is really like. He won me over immediately when he decided to wear a blue shirt because everyone else was wearing white. Thoreau would have applauded his individualism.

With my current profession dedicated to improving individual and corporate communication, I agree with Gerstner's assertion that "No institutional transformation takes place, I believe, without a multi-year commitment by the CEO to put himself or herself constantly in front of employees and speak in plain, simple, compelling language that drives conviction and action throughout the organization."

Another striking bit of Gerstner wisdom: "Success in a company comes foremost from success with the customer, nothing else."

He's right on target again when he observes that "lack of focus is the most common cause of corporate mediocrity."

Yet Gerstner goes beyond mere platitudes: "Execution--getting the task done, making it happen--is the most unappreciated skill of an effective business leader."

Possibly two of Gerstner's words capsule his approach to awakening IBM to its possibilities: "constructive impatience."

In my judgment, Louis Gerstner should rank alongside Jack Welch as a take-no-prisoners leader. Read this book, and you will agree that he was the right man at the right time for IBM.The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication-change Your Life!

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A leader thru change

Mr. Gerstner provides his story of when he took over the reigns at IBM and brought the company back on its feet. This is a strict business book with internal memos and charts at the end so it can lend itself to being a bit boring in some parts. However, when the authir describes how he was able to navicate thru the huge complexity of all the different divisions, then this book becomes a valuable reference for any business leader who needs to go thru the same process.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? sums up Lou Gerstner's historic business achievement, bringing IBM back from the brink of insolvency to lead the computer business once again.Offering a unique case study drawn from decades of experience at some of America's top companies -- McKinsey, American Express, RJR Nabisco -- Gerstner's insights into management and leadership are applicable to any business, at any level. Ranging from strategy to public relations, from finance to organization, Gerstner reveals the lessons of a lifetime running highly successful companies.

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