Louis V Gerstner - The Man Who Turned IBM Around

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Case Details:

Case Code : LDEN007
Case Length : 14 Pages
Period : 1992-2001
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note :Not Available
Organization : IBM
Industry : Information Technology Countries : USA

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This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.

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Introduction Contd...

Gerstner never believed in setting long-term plans. Instead, he focused on immediate problems, and evolved strategies to solve them.

He identified the needs of customers, and developed solutions to satisfy their needs. Gerstner watched the IT industry closely and carefully and was quick to foresee the trends which were likely to emerge in the future.

He was among the few people who visualized that networking could transform the way people worked. While visualizing these changes was not exceptional, converting these visions into the potential opportunities was indeed exceptional...

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Background Note

Gerstner was born on March 01, 1942 in Minolta, New York, US. His father was a traffic manager at F&M Schaefer Corporation Brewery. Right from his childhood, his parents stressed the importance of education and discipline. Thus, they helped to a great extent in shaping up his attitude towards life. Gerstner graduated in engineering at Dartmouth³ in 1963. Two years later, he earned a business management degree from Harvard Business School.

Fresh out of college, Gerstner joined the reputed management consultancy firm, McKinsey & Company in 1965, earning the distinction of being the youngest manager to be hired by the firm at that time.

He soon became noted as a hard task master. Within four years of joining, he was promoted as a partner. He was among the selected few, who were offered partnership, before six years, which was the general practice. In 1973, he was promoted as senior partner in the firm and was responsible for handling major clients. Two years later i.e. in 1975, he was appointed as a director of the firm. He was the youngest director of the firm.

During his thirteen years tenure at McKinsey, Gerstner had many accomplishments to his credit, prominent among them being devising the financial strategy practice for McKinsey, helping the transportation firm, Penn Central Railway⁴ to turnaround from the verge of bankruptcy and helping American Express⁵ to expand its business. He was also a member of the leadership committee at the firm. An important leadership lesson which Gerstner learned at McKinsey was to thoroughly focus on the problem on hand and create an environment which encouraged people to come out with their ideas, irrespective of their designation in the firm...

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3] Established in 1769, Dartmouth offers several undergraduate and graduate programs. The institution offers 16 graduate programs in arts and sciences, apart from conducting programs in specialized fields such as engineering (Thayer School of engineering), medicine (Dartmouth medical college) and business administration (Tuck school of business).

4] The oldest railway company in the US, later renamed Conrail.

5] American Express provides international banking, financial advisory and travel-related services in more than 200 countries all over the world. The company offers charge and credit cards, travelers'checks, travel services, financial planning, investment and insurance products.