I don't want to use the word reorganization. Reorganization to me is shuffling boxes, moving boxes around. Transformation means that you're really fundamentally changing the way the organization thinks, the way it responds, the way it leads. It's a lot more than just playing with boxes.
Lou GerstnerNo institution will go through fundamental change unless it believes it is in deep trouble and needs to do something different to survive.
Lou GerstnerThe next thing is: we can make IBM even better. We brought IBM back but we're gunning for leadership.
Lou GerstnerThe more successful enterprises are the more they try to replicate, duplicate, codify what makes us great. And suddenly they're inward thinking. They're thinking how can we continue to do what we've done in the past without understanding that what made them successful is to take risks, to change and to adapt and to be responsive. And so in a sense success breeds its own failure. And I think it's true of a lot of successful businesses.
Lou GerstnerVisit USA.gov and you'll find thousands of directorates, agencies, boards, offices, and services replete with overlapping responsibilities, ancient priorities, and divided accountability.
Lou GerstnerYou canโt mandate [cultural change], canโt engineer it. What you can do is create the conditions for transformation. You can provide incentives. You can define the marketplace realities and goals. But then you have to trust. In fact, in the end, management doesnโt change culture. Management invites the workforce itself to change the culture.
Lou Gerstner