A View from Beneath the Dancing Elephant

Rediscovering IBM's Corporate Constitution

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August 11, 2016 | History

A View from Beneath the Dancing Elephant

Rediscovering IBM's Corporate Constitution

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Many IBMers see Louis V. Gerstner as the savior of their company—indeed, Gerstner sees himself that way. Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? expresses this perspective quite well. What Gerstner never realized is that much of his success came from accidentally tapping into an eighty-year-old culture that he never understood. IBM’s founders, the Watsons, created this culture in the 1910s, and then codified it in the 1950s with the creation of three Basic Beliefs: Respect, Service and Excellence. But today’s IBM has lost its culture, its constitution and its way.

Surely a century-old corporation is more than its founding words; but great leaders do not seek to abolish a people’s constitution, rather they seek a return to its original intent. This book captures how that change occurred—a view from beneath the dancing elephant.

Publish Date
Pages
186

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Edition Availability
Cover of: A View from Beneath the Dancing Elephant
A View from Beneath the Dancing Elephant: Rediscovering IBM's Corporate Constitution
2014, MBI Concepts Corporation
Paperback

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Book Details


Table of Contents

Preface. ix
Introduction. 1
A Resilient Social Ecology. 2
IBM’s Twentieth-Century Corporate Constitution. 7
Chapter 1: The Path to Growth. 17
A Test of Character. 18
A Bad Business Decision. 21
The Roaring Twenties. 23
The Great Depression. 25
World War II. 27
A Scaling Corporation. 29
Chapter 2: Life in the Redwood Forest. 35
Thoughtful Mistakes. 36
Building Commitment. 40
Building Family. 44
Building Excellence. 47
Chapter 3: A Culture Under Pressure. 55
IBM Stumbles Entering the 1990s. 56
Chapter 4: The Watershed Event. 67
A Defining Moment. 68
Did the Elephant Dance?. 77
Chapter 5: A Floundering Ship. 81
The New IBM Family Days. 82
IBM’s New Product Life Cycle. 94
A Blue Déjà Vu. 99
Chapter 6: Reigniting a True Blue Déjà Vu. 115
Understanding IBM’s Economic Engine. 116
An Ideal Continuation of Tradition. 124
Afterword. 129
Elephants in Braille. 130
Appendix A: IBM CEO Information. 132
Appendix B: History of National Cash Register (NCR). 142
Sherman Antitrust Trial. 142
Appendix C: IBM Traditional Anniversary Celebrations. 144
Appendix D: IBM Benefit Plan Summary Changes. 146
Appendix E: IBM Benefit Plan Detail Changes. 148
Appendix F: The $1,000-a-Day Man. 164
Appendix G: IBM Management Principles. 168

Edition Notes

Published in
USA

Classifications

Library of Congress
HC102.5.W38 G74 2011

Contributors

Editor
David Kassin Fried

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Pagination
xi, 174
Number of pages
186
Weight
10.6 ounces

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL25938770M
Internet Archive
viewfrombeneathd0000greu
ISBN 10
0983373469
ISBN 13
9780983373469
Amazon ID (ASIN)
B00KPKX7W8

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October 22, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
August 11, 2016 Edited by Peter E. Greulich Edited without comment.
August 11, 2016 Edited by Peter E. Greulich New listing
August 11, 2016 Created by Peter E. Greulich Added new book.