Why does IBM still exist? John Akers, an MBA, was running IBM into the ground while claiming to be fixing IBM. In 1992, Bill Gates finally understood why he had so much trouble with IBM. 1990s IBM desks had IBM-XT PCs with CGA monitors. No software sold in malls could run on computers in IBM Corporate. John Akers did not even know how to use a computer except for e-mail and stock quotes. He also promoted a myth called computer literacy. Akers was the classic bean counter who stifled innovation (especially in mainframes) and therefore destroyed 100,000 jobs.
How did IBM save itself? From Wikipedia, Louis Gerstner
Quote:
is credited with saving IBM ... he describes his arrival at the company in April 1993, when an active plan was in place to disaggregate the company. The prevailing wisdom of the time held that IBM's core mainframe business was headed for obsolescence. The company's own management was in the process of allowing its various divisions to rebrand and manage themselves — the so-called "Baby Blues."
Gerstner reversed this plan, ... His decision to keep the company together was the defining decision of his tenure. The subsequent refocusing on the IT services business, the embrace of the Internet as a business phenomenon, and a broad effort to revive the company's culture are widely seen as having resulted in one of the most remarkable turnarounds in business history.
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IBM stopped firing employees when Gerstner enabled employess to focus on products.
What is always needed to save a company? 85% of all problems are directly traceable to ... but then how many finally appreciate what everyone should have known long ago.
John Akers became IBM's president in 1983. Therefore ten years of stifled innovation terminated over 100,000 jobs. How does GM fix itself? Their Akers (Wagoner) must be replaced by a Gerstner. However some are so misinformed as to blame employees or unions rather than stifled innovation. John Akers and Rick Wagoner are classic bean counters with no grasp of the product and a denial that they are the problem.
Deutsche Bank has a target price for GM stock at zero dollars.