What role did customer-focus play in IBM's strategy for revival?

Customer-focus played a crucial role in IBM's strategy for revival. It was one of the new values that the turnaround leader, Louis Gerstner, imbued in IBM. This shift in focus was a significant departure from IBM's previous culture of complacency and staunch traditionalism. By focusing on the customer, IBM was able to become more competitive and responsive to market needs, which was instrumental in its turnaround.

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Surviving a crisis requires bold leadership, a strategy for the future, tough decisions, and the ability to motivate and inspire others to come along with you. IBM's turnaround leader Louis Gerstner implemented these tactics and more, making calls to keep IBM together, dramatically reduce prices, enter the new realm of services, and reorganize around industries rather than geographies. Learn his reasonings and how he kept IBM afloat after giving the business no more than a 20% chance of making it through their downturn. An even bigger challenge was the culture clash that stormed as he imbued IBM with new values of competitiveness and customer-focus in place of complacency and staunch traditionalism. Learn his communication philosophy and the nine strategies he chose to motivate others.

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Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?: Leading a Great Enterprise through Dramatic Change

Learn from one of the best turnaround leaders of our time, Lou Gerstner of IBM. Take a page from Gerstner’s playbook on how to reinvigorate a quickly...

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