How has Gerstner's approach to reorganization influenced corporate strategies or business models?

Potential obstacles companies might face when applying Gerstner's reorganization strategy include resistance from the old guard who may refuse to relinquish control and direct their staff to do the same. This resistance can slow down the reorganization process and create conflicts within the company. To overcome these obstacles, companies can ensure clear communication about the benefits and necessity of the reorganization, provide adequate support and resources to the new global industry heads, and foster a culture of adaptability and openness to change. It's also important to be patient as such a reorganization can take several years to implement successfully.

The concept of "global industry teams" was a key part of Gerstner's reorganization of IBM. Instead of organizing the company geographically, Gerstner decided to organize it according to global industry teams. He segmented customers into thirteen industry groups and reallocated all current customer accounts away from geographic heads and to the global industry heads. This ensured that each group had an adequate budget and personnel. The transition was not smooth, with many of the "old guard" refusing to relinquish control. However, after about three years, the reorganization was successfully implemented.