In Reply to: Hard Cop Soft Cop( With passion) - Palmisano's Future vision posted by Joe on 25 January 2004 at 18:50:46:
Joe,
A great set of excellent points. There is no doubt, IMHO, I agree that he was at best a mediocre balance sheet mechanic who needed a good lawyer to cover his actions. The big question is why did he have to do things that required such a skilled lawyer? Did he reach an assessment where he realized the company couldn't be saved with more "conservative" financial engineering? It is very interesting that IBM had 7 CFO's during the last CEO tenure and that one of them graduated to become a convicted US securities felon at Xerox (Thoenen). What prompted all the changes? What prompted the CFO of IBM, Doug Maine to quickly go down to become a lowly GM in the retail sector? What did he see that scared him?
Although he has tried to cover his tracks and bath himself in respectability (possibly bought?) the story is not over, since US government authorities (SEC, DOJ) have not announced an end to their investigative activities. Time will tell.
Your are right on that the current leader in Armonk is quickly trying to change the image of IBM. However, history shows us that he will likely fail. First, the IBM Board of Directors has hardly changed. That is a factor against change. Second, the after Gerstner effects at American Express and RJR-Nabisco tell us he sucked up so much of the company spirit at those companies as a result of his financial engineering that one took 5 years to recover and RJR-Nabisco hasn't recovered yet. Just look at what happened to the Planter's division.
You are right about commoditization. The India-Eastern Europe-China axis of commercial warfare is slowly destroying western civilization as we know it. This first effects is to destroy our plans for the future.
That's why everyone in IBM should be deeply worried about the future of their pension. Just like the American union gangsters of the 50's, the consultants came in as stole as much as they could before the law started to look the way of IBM. History tell us we should start worrying about what we think we legally have left, our pensions.
We have been brainwashed by the good deeds of the past which created a brand image of a good corporation. Forget it. It's gone. The same VP's, GM's, 3rd lines that were bred in the company during Gerstner's tenure are still there. Bad management habits and attitudes are hard to change. Sam may have good intentions, but he is leading with a BOD ready to stab him in the back and a set of bred managers in the Gerstner mould that have no desire to change and become "nice people".
The time to talk about the future is over. The time to act on our pensions is now. AMIPP must become a representative part of the employees or get out of the way.
Is AMIPP with us or not? That is the question. Now is the time for all good current and ex-IBMers to stand and be counted for their colleagues, not the company.
The Reformation of Business has begun.