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  • Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?

  • Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround
  • By: Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
  • Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
  • Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (125 ratings)
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Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? cover art

Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?

By: Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
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Summary

In 1990, IBM had its most profitable year ever. By 1993, the company was on a watch list for extinction, victimized by its own lumbering size, an insular corporate culture, and the PC era IBM had itself helped invent.

Enter Lou Gerstner. The presumption was that Gerstner had joined IBM to preside over its continued dissolution into a confederation of autonomous business units, effectively eliminating the corporation that had invented many of the industry's most important technologies. Instead, Gerstner took hold of the company, making the bold decision to keep it together, defiantly announcing, "The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision."

Told in Lou Gerstner's own words, this is a story of an extraordinary turnaround, a case study in managing a crisis, and a thoughtful reflection on the computer industry and the principles of leadership. Summing up his historic business achievement, Gerstner recounts high-level meetings, explains the no-turning-back decisions that had to be made, and offers his hard-won conclusions about the essence of what makes a great company run.

©2002 Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. (P)2002 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A well-rendered self-portrait of a CEO who made spectacular change on the strength of personal leadership." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Edward Herrmann's pacing and understated connection with the material in this memoir makes the audio seem compact and relaxed. The writing is also outstanding, lacking excessive pride or self-congratulation....An essential volume for anyone interested in technology, large organizations, or IBM's miraculous rebirth under Gerstner's leadership." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyed it.

Nice easy listen and a fascinating story. I usually opt for books narrated by the author as they have more emotion. However Edward Herrmann really brings the story to life, and boy what a story!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Good

Excellent listen - how someone with little IT skills transformed IBM - one of, if not , the most important companies in the world. Rare business book thats worth more than one listen.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Oh
  • 24-01-24

IBM insight

Interesting from a personal journey and impact of one person on a company. Worth listening to the Greatest Capitalist beforehand as it will provide useful background about IBM that is referenced in this book

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

How to apply changes to a large business

The turn around achieved by this author is truly amazing. However the insights strategies and phrases can be applied to all businesses as they scale and merge with other organisations.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Useful insights

The book is really in 2 halves. I found the 1st most interesting as it was more narrative.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

fine

The book is great but the story is sooo long and a bit boring. if you're not into business and especially the story behind this book, I don't think you'll finish it ( I hardly did ).
if I can go back in time I'd listen to a summary or I'd read an article about the subject. the performance though is magnificent.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great insight into the 1990s Big Blue turnaround

Lou tells a compelling story of the fall and rise of a monolith company. He changed the culture and made it competitive again. Many large corporations could learn a lesson from this journey even today, more than 20 years later. A recommended read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book

We all take different thjngs from books due to our own biases and personalities, none the less I believe this book has something for everybody and the story is captivating to say the least, combining technicalities with narrative.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

interesting but a difficult listen

struggled at times. often had to re-listen to parts. narrator not the best. otherwise good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant history fantastic insight into technolog

great story and mixture between a biography of IBM and at the end there is a few chapters on current technology and the potential future. Definitely worth a listen. there are quite a few insights into the culture of IBM such as the personal assistants of the executives. It will be quite interesting to hear what actually happened with some of these changes, there are a lot of comments on how IBM was but not necessarily what he did practically to do it. But the philosophy behind it is timeless and worth Reading if you are at all interested in IBM, technology leadership or just business in general. Despite being a 20-year-old book it is highly relevant now still

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