IBM Redux: Lou Gerstner and the Business Turnaround of the Decade

by Doug Garr

An inside look at one of the greatest business stories of our Lou Gerstner's dramatic transformation of IBM from a dying company into a nimble giant When Lou Gerstner took the helm at IBM in 1993, the company was headed toward bankruptcy. Six years later Big Blue was back and better than its stock at an all-time high; its coffers filled with cash; and its market capitalization a healthy $169 billion. How did Gerstner do it? With unprecedented access to current and former IBM employees, and drawing upon more than 150 interviews and hundreds of pages of documents, journalist Doug Garr offers the first in-depth took at the IBM miracle and the man who made it happen. From the complete overhaul of the company's image and culture to the takeover of Lotus and the development of network technology, Garr vividly illustrates Gerstner's operating methods, management philosophy, and vision. Fastpaced and fascinating, IB14 Redux provides rare insight into the world of information services and offers prescient advice on what IBM and its competitors need to do to keep on thriving in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Business, Biography

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

Reviews

[Harish B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting bio of Lou Grestner. A detailed view of IBM CEO's turnaround efforts. But the book seriously lacks management insights.

[Lori Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read company profile for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.

[Mohamed Zahran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice assessment of the first part of Lou Gerstner's tenure at IBM. The book spans the years from 1993 to 1998 (Lou retired from IBM about 2002. The book did a good job describing the culture pre-Lou and afterwards at IBM and the major players.
I think, to get the full picture, you may also want to read:

"Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?" by Lou himself. He wrote it by the time of his retirement.

"A View from Beneath the Dancing Elephant: Rediscovering IBM's Corporate Constitution" which gives a different perspective at what happened at IBM after Lou.