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

Second Thoughts on a First Review: Bernard M. Baruch

10/29/2020

I learned from this experience to be careful referencing “authoritative sources.” I believe that all men are human, and that Baruch either never read, failed to read, or for some other (so far) undiscovered reason failed to consider the additional published works that discussed Judge Gary.

Picture of Bernard Baruch's The Public Years.

Research is an eternal process of digging

But isn’t this human? Yes, but disappointingly so for Bernard Baruch, a man who was obviously so well spoken and so highly perceived by the public and by many of his peers. I expected more and need to be more careful in my own writings.

This is my lesson learned concerning this second thought on a first review: Humility.

Cheers,

- Pete

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B. C. Forbes Describes Andrew Carnegie in One Sentence

10/25/2020

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"If I were to attempt to describe Andrew Carnegie in one comprehensive sentence I would say:

That he treated his workmen with consideration and inspired talent by his generous, adroit system of sharing profits with those who contributed to the attainment of successful results;
As a youth, he worked prodigiously and displayed extraordinary alertness in seizing opportunities;
That in temperament he was strong-willed to the point of arrogance, and distinctly vainglorious, though, at the same time;
By his example of prodigal giving, mostly for worthy purposes, he has done much to take the curse from inordinate riches and to force other millionaires to spend large parts of their fortunes for the benefit of humanity, thus, by his own deeds and by his example, furthering incalculably the brotherhood of man;

B.C. Forbes hit the Carnegie personality-nails on their heads in this sentence.

That through intense study and very extensive travel he became a man of no mean culture;
That he early manifested extraordinary skill in financiering and pulled off more clever deals than any man of his day;
That he glorified his parents and treated his mother with the most beautiful reverence;
And finally, he had simple habits and democratic ways."

B. C. Forbes, Men Who Are Making America

[This sentence was reordered and bulletized without changing the substance or meaning of the sentence.]

Yes, it was a rather long, comprehensive sentence, wasn't it? Then again, from what I have read, Mr. Forbes hit the Andrew Carnegie personality-nails on their heads. Too many fail to convey the complexity of the man—even in whole books about him. They are failed attempts.

This, though, is a nice piece of prose about a complex, yet great individual.

Peter E. Greulich

Read Review of "Empire of Business"

Read a Review of "Round the WOrld"

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Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty Key Performance Indicators

10/23/2020

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Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty never understood that the individuals in her sales force who gave their customers one hundred percent could carry only twenty-five percent of the burden.

Picture of ship breaking up on an iceberg.

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They needed a chief executive officer who, as a saleswoman-in-chief, could build an organization to provide the other seventy-five percent that makes selling possible.

Perhaps her failures over the last eight years can mentor today’s chief executive officers, and if these past mistakes are corrected, all stakeholders should see better corporate performance ahead—if not, they should expect more of the same.

She disregarded all the warning signs of imminent disaster—more comparable to a destroyer’s commander who maintains course and speed while headed towards an iceberg.

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There will be little doubt after reviewing the data in these coming articles that Ginni Rometty’s tenure is not that of a chief executive presiding over a difficult transition—some have compared her to a captain turning a battleship.

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Two IBM Executives' Views on Change: Rodgers and Gerstner

10/21/2020

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F. G. (Buck) Rodgers: "Mr. IBM"

A Realistic Perspective in a Distributed, Decentralized, Decision Making Organization

"We live in a changing world and the future cannot be predicted with certainty. That's an obvious statement, but how we deal with change and the future is not so obvious.

"Change can be an ally when your company is alert and sensitive and has its antennae reaching in all directions, picking up all the signals around you.

"Of course, change will be your enemy if it catches you by surprise. You must control change--or change will control you.

"To the fearful, change is threatening. They know that things will somehow get worse. The hopeful have faith that change will make things better. But to those special people who love a challenge and are "light on their feet," change is stimulating and exciting. They are the people who can make a difference. They can make a company.

"The people who make things happen are in demand and should be guarded jealously. Those who watch things happen and those who aren't sure what's happening are left behind."

Buck Rodgers, The IBM Way

Louis V. (Lou) Gerstner

An Myopic Perspective in a Centralized, Controlling, Hierarchical Organization

"Nobody likes change. Whether you are a senior executive or an entry-level employee, change represents uncertainty and, potentially, pain.

"So there must be a crisis, and it is the job of the CEO to define and communicate that crisis, its magnitude, its severity, and its impact.

"Just as important, the CEO must also be able to communicate how to end the crisis--the new strategy, the new company model, the new culture."

Louis V. Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?

This Author's Perspective and Thoughts

Put these two insights together you come up with this:

Evidently, Gerstner surrounded himself with fearful people--who saw change as threatening. So, he had to motivate them and everything depended on him to end a crisis. Buck Rodgers surrounding himself with "special people," who loved a challenge and were "light on their feet." Surrounded by these individuals, he had antennae reaching in all directions to see change coming and exploit it.

You decide which of these executives created a work environment that was stimulating and exciting.

Which executive would you want to work for?

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The Disintegration of IBM: NewCo

10/19/2020

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The announcement of the breakup of IBM will only exacerbate the company’s current most-pressing problem, not cure it.

Picture of elephant disintegrating: Kyndryl.

The spike in stock price is a “Wall Street” phenomenon, not a “Main Street” or “Stakeholder” affirmation of the decision. Reality will set in soon enough because when it comes to business fundamentals, Main Street has proven itself better able to understand long-term realities than Wall Street ever has.

IBM employees are closer to reality at IBM than any of its other main-street stakeholders—even customers, and this announcement will have negative effects that will play out over the next few years. This move will affect employee engagement, and employee sales productivity, in all probability, will continue its two-decades-long decline.

Unfortunately, looking back on recent IBM chief executive officer history, Arvind Krishna is more of the same. He, like his 21st Century predecessors, is selling to Wall Street not his long-term stakeholders.

Select this button to read about the Kyndryl strategy

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Second Thoughts on a First Review: Bernard M. Baruch

B. C. Forbes Describes Andrew Carnegie in One Sentence

Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty Key Performance Indicators

Two IBM Executives' Views on Change: Rodgers and Gerstner

The Disintegration of IBM: NewCo

Peter E. Greulich

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