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Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?
- Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
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Summary
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.
Critic reviews
"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)
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What listeners say about Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?
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Overall
- Jacob
- 22-03-13
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
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- D. W. Chandler
- 06-02-11
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
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- 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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- A A C PETTET
- 16-01-23
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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- Fred
- 23-04-22
Useful insights
The book is really in 2 halves. I found the 1st most interesting as it was more narrative.
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- Anonymous User
- 28-01-21
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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- Trupster
- 03-01-21
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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- Juan Fandino
- 12-12-19
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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- Anonymous User
- 17-04-19
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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- N A
- 29-10-18
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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