Peter E. Greulich's Blog for Short Thoughts, Insights and Witticisms

General Grant's Stand for Justice Against President Johnson

4/28/2022

As a nation, we are proud that our top political leader does not adorn him or herself in medals and military splendor. The respect for the position of President of the United States is not based on the might of the sword but the political will of the people. Ours is a civilian leader, and we would never take lightly the stand of a general against the directions of his or her duly-elected Commander in Chief.

A picture of the Lincoln Memorial with the tagline:

Select image to read the article.

But, in this incident captured by A. B. Farquhar it did happen . . . and maybe other times never captured in print. Integrity many times demands a stand of personal conviction and, in this instance, General Grant stood strong.

A. B. Farquhar was a mid-19th Century to early 20th Century American Industrialist.

He knew Lincoln. He knew all the presidents thereafter until his death. He knew General Ulysses S. Grant. This is a modified excerpt from Mr. Farquhar’s book, An Autobiography of A. B. Farquhar.

Select this icon to read "General Grant's Stand Against a Sitting President."

0 Comments

Andrew Carnegie: Achieving Superlative Human Performances

4/25/2022

0 Comments

“There lie latent unsuspected powers in willing men [and women] around us which only need appreciation and development to produce surprising results.

image of the front dust cover of Burton J. Hendrick's

"Money rewards alone will not however insure these, for to the most sensitive and ambitious natures there must be the note of sympathy, appreciation, friendship.

"Genius is sensitive in all its forms, and it is unusual ability—not ordinary ability, that tells [achieves results]. You must capture and keep the 'heart' of the original and supremely able man [or woman] before his [or her] brain can do its best.”

Burton J. Hendrick, The Life of Andrew Carnegie

As with Thomas J. Watson Sr., Andrew Carnegie grows in my admiration as I study more of the early 19th and 20th Century American Industrialists. This book review has not been posted yet (April 25, 2022) but the link below will take you to "Andy's" quotes home page.

After reading this, it will be time to establish an Andrew Carnegie Bibliography Home Page with the links to the material I have posted. Until then, feel free to search on Andrew Carnegie.

Andrew Carnegie Quotes and Witticisms Home Page

0 Comments

A Review of Ida M. Tarbell's "The Nationalizing of Business"

4/18/2022

0 Comments

I was once again impressed by Ida M. Tarbell’s’ balanced approach to history and her description of the actors who interacted—and sometimes fought—with each other. She covers the individuals with Emerson’s Lengthening Shadow who led capital, business and labor during this time.

The Nationalizing of Business 1878–1898: Volume IX is on par with Mark Sullivan’s Our Times. Mr. Sullivan’s series of six volumes focuses on the opening twenty-five years of the 20th Century, where this series takes a more expansive look at American life from 1492 through, initially, 1928 with Volume XII, which was then extended through 1941 and The Great Depression with Volume XIII.

Chose the image of the icon below to read this full review and reviews of her other works.

Ida M. Tarbell's "Other Publications"

0 Comments

IBM and Arvind Krishna's Performance through 2021

4/12/2022

0 Comments

As has become custom, Peter E. has updated IBM's and Arvind Krishna's key performance indicators (KPIs) through the end of 2021. They are summarized on the "Arvind Krishna Overall Performance Home Page."

Color slide with the tagline: Arvind Krishna's Overall Performance and Key Performance Measurements.

Select image to read this article.

Select the image provided or the icon below to read about Arvind Krishna's performance from the end of 2019 when Virginia M. Rometty relinquished the corner officer to the end of 2021, or from 2011 to the end of 2021 when Rometty and Krishna ran the company, or from 1999 to to the end of 2021 when Gerstner, Palmisano, Rometty and Krishna ran the company in the 21st Century.

IBM released its 2021 Annual Report in March 2022 and these pages were updated in early April 2022. The next set of updates to these specific pages should be in April 2023 after the release of the IBM 2022 Annual Report.

Contact Peter E. Greulich if you would like to utilize any of his information or have him prepare a unique IBM article or graph to your organization's unique specifications.

Arvind Krishna's Overall Performance Through 2021

0 Comments

IBM 2022 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

4/4/2022

0 Comments

Each year after IBM releases its annual report, I update this chart to document the difference between two sets of IBM chief executive officers: (1) Two 20th Century leaders who managed a business and (2) Four 21st Century leaders who are managing a business to a stock price or to a stock price metric such as earnings-per-share.

A chart that compares two, sixteen-year periods of transition at IBM: 1960 to 1976, 2005 to 2021. The chart includes these IBM KPIs: Net Income (profit), Tangible Assets, Revenue, Net Income Productivity, Market Value, Stock Price Appreciation, Sales Productivity, Employment, and Goodwill.

In the 20th Century, IBM made a sixteen-year transition that set it apart from and ahead of its competition for almost a half century [Read: The Greatest Business Gamble of the 20th Century].

Some analysts believe that IBM is in a similar transition in the 21st Century. This author disagrees.

Over the last sixteen years how have IBM's chief executive officers performed against some similar critical key performance metrics? The answer should not be a surprise to any IBMer or analyst that understands what it took to build the 20th Century IBM. The Watsons invested in making people more productive, processes more effective and products more valuable.

This is what happens when you invest in paper (stock buybacks/repurchases) instead.

IBM's 21st Century Key Performance Indicators

0 Comments