Final Case Analysis

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Final Case Analysis A Look into “Waking Up IBM: How a Gang of Unlikely Rebels Transformed Big Blue” (The world’s biggest companies, 2015) Akshay Ajgaonkar Owen Kajfasz Vinayak Kawathekar Sanath Kumar

Transcript of Final Case Analysis

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FinalCaseAnalysisALookinto“WakingUpIBM:HowaGangofUnlikelyRebelsTransformedBigBlue”

(Theworld’sbiggestcompanies,2015)

AkshayAjgaonkarOwenKajfaszVinayakKawathekarSanathKumar

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IntroductiontoCaseStudy ThisfinalteamprojectisbasedontheHarvardBusinessReviewcasestudyof“WakingupIBM:HowaGangofUnlikelyRebelsTransformedtheBigBlue”byGaryHamel(2000).Here,theassessmentofthecasestudyisdonebyfirstgivingthebackgroundandabriefsummaryofthecasestudy.ThisisfollowedbyanalyzingtheOrganizationalStructureandCultureof IBMduringthischange.Furtherwehavealsoanalyzed theEffectiveCommunication, IT for InterpersonalCommunications and Leadership inActionprinciples to assess the given case study on these principles. To extend this we have touched uponunderstanding of the conflict resolution and negotiation techniques and an understanding of changemanagementtechniquestoITenablingchangeinIBM.Finally,welookatsomeofthemoreimmediateandlong-termresultsonIBM.

Backgroundof‘WakingupIBM’CaseStudy ThisisacasestudywhereHameldiscussesthesituationthatIBMwasinduringthestartofthe90’s.The‘BigBlue’(asitwasfondlycalled)wasindeepwaters.ItscompetitorslikeFujitsu,Compaq,EDS,IntelandMicrosoftweremakinglifeverydifficultforIBM.ToaddtotheirwoesIBM’sexecutiveswerebusyfightingtheirendlessturfbattles.Duetothelossesthathadrackedup,manyarmchairconsultantshadexpressedtheirviewthatIBMshouldbebrokenup.TheInternetwasanewtrendandnotmanywereassuredofitsreliabilityandability.Duringthe1994WinterOlympicsIBMwasthetechnologicalpartnerandwasresponsibleforcollectinganddisplayingalltheresultsoftheevent.DuringthateventamidlevelprogrammeratIBM,DavidGrossman,sawthatthea“rogueOlympicswebsiterunbySunMicrosystemswastakingIBM’srawdatafeedandpresentingitundertheSunbanner”(Hamel,2000,p.6).GrossmanwaspushedtoactionduetothisandhetriedtocontacttheexecutivesatIBMtogetthismessageacrossandshowthemwhatinternetiscapableof.Hefacedsomedifficultiesinitiallytogethispointacrosstotheexecutives.Inordertoprovehispoint,hedrovefor4hourstomeetthemarketingexecutiveAbbyKohnstammandtoshowherademonstrationoftheinternet.ItwasduringthismeetingthatGrossmanmethisallyJohnPatrickwhowaspresentinthemeeting. Together,GrossmanandPatrick became this Internet tag teamwherePatrickwoulddo thebusiness translation forGrossmanandGrossmanwouldhandle the technology translation forPatrick.Together they startedmaking advancements in innovating using the internetwhich resulted in themdeveloping the ‘Get Connected’ manifesto to leverage the web for IBM. The 6 ways outlined in themanifestowere,

1. Replacepapercommunicationswithemail.2. Giveeveryemployeeane-mailaddress.3. Maketopexecutivesavailabletocustomersandinvestorsonline.4. Buildahomepagetobettercommunicatewithcustomers.5. PrintaWebaddressoneverything,andputallmarketingonline.6. Usethehomepagefore-commerce.(Hamel,2000,p.7)

As Patrick and Grossman’s group began to blossom, they decided to show a demonstration of thecapabilitiesoftheinternettotheCEOofthecompany,LouGerstner,byshowinghimthemockupforapotentialIBMcorporatewebsite.Onseeingthis,GerstnerimmediatelygotonboardandaskedPatrickand Grossman, “Where’s the buy button?” (Hamel, 2000, p. 9). Still there were many skeptics and

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GrossmanandPatrickhadtodotheirbesttogeteveryoneatIBMonboard.Patricktriedtorelentlesslypropagated the importance of internet in every meeting and press conference to people inside andoutsideIBMandGerstnersupportedhim.IBMwithPatrickandGrossmantookonthetaskofbuildingawebsite for the summer Olympics and in the process to prepare for it they also started developingwebsitesfortheU.S.Open,WimbledonandforthechessmatchbetweentheIBMsupercomputerDeepBlueandthethenworldchampionGaryKasparov.ThewebsiteforIBMturnedouttobebiggerthanwhattheyhadeveranticipatedwith17millionhitsperday.ItalsotaughtIBMtodoalittlee-commercewhenademositeforticketsalesattractedafloodofcreditcardsnumbers.With the successof theOlympics, theorganization started to changeand transform.ThenewwayofdevelopmentwhichGrossmanbroughttoIBMchangedthetraditionalapproachofdoingthings.PatrickandGrossman’steamdevelopedanewsetofsoftwaredevelopmentprincipleswhichsummarizedthegrowingWebcommunityinIBM.TheInternetgroupborrowedpeoplefromdifferentteamsduringtheirprojectsandinthesamewaytheywouldloantheirteammemberstootherteamswhenaskedforit.InthiswaytheemployeeswouldlearnandgrowimmenselyandthisenabledaveryflexiblestructureatIBMwhichservedasacatalystforinnovation.AllofthiswashighlysuccessfulbecauseofthestrongdesirethatGrossmanandPatrickhadtowakeIBMup.AsHamelsoaptlyputs it,“Throughouttheir Internetcampaign,PatrickandGrossmanbroke long-standingIBMrulesandoversteppedtheboundariesoftheirownauthority.ButbecausetheircausewassoimportantandtheircommitmenttoIBM'ssuccesssovisiblyselfless,theygotawaywiththingsthatbadoftensunkcareersatBigBlue”(Hamed,2000,p.11).Eventoday,PatrickandGrossmanarerecognizedasthepeoplewhoturneditaroundforIBM.Withthesupportofpro-changeCEO,these2achievedthemetamorphosisthatIBMneededtofinallyagainleadfromthefront.

OrganizationalStructuresandCultures Before the internet revolution at IBM, the organization was divided into different departments anddivisionswithpeoplehavingdevelopedaparochialisticattitude(Hamel,2000).TherewasnocollaborationandinteractionofideasamongsttheemployeesatIBMwhichhadstagnatedanykindofinnovation.Theteams were in different silos and the team members developed a narrow minded approach of notinteractingwithoneanother.ThishadseverelyimpactedIBM’spositionintheindustrywhichhadresultedinIBMhavingseverlosses.After the internet revolution, theorganizational Structureof IBMwas restructured to amore flexiblestructure,thematrixstructure,withtheideaofdevelopingoneunifiedIBM(Gesminetal.,2011).Theideawastohelpemployeescommunicateeasilyandefficientlywitheachotherandlearnfromvariousprojects.TheintentionwastomakeIBM’sstructureflatandboundarylessjustlikethatoftheinternet(Hamel,2000).GrossmanandPatrickenabledthistransitionofIBMintoamatrixstructurewhentheystartedborrowingpeoplefromvariousteamsintotheinternetgrouptobuildthewebapplications(Hamel,2000).Thesamewaymembers from the Internetgroupwouldalsobe transferred tootherproductgroupswhen theywouldaskforhelp(Hamel,2000).Thisforgedstrongrelationshipsbothwaysandwitheverymemberwho

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wentintodifferentteams,helearnedalotaboutthatdivisionandhecouldimplementthoseconceptsintohisteamafterhisreturn.AccordingtoGesminetal.,

Allthebusinesseswithinthecompanywerecategorizedtothreemajorgroups:H1forshorttermmature business, H2 for rapidly growing business, H3 for long term emerging businesses. H1consistsofshorttermmaturebusinesses.155datacenterwerereducedto3regionaldatacenter.HealsoreducedthenumberofCIOtooneCIOwhowasresponsibletomakedirectreporttotheCEO. The system development process was also reengineered, the number of in-houseapplicationsdecreasedfrom16000to5200.Italsointegratednewtechnologiestomeettheclientdemands.Aspartofrestructuringefforts,companyalsofocusedoncostreductionprocess.Thecompanyhadcutitsworkforcefrom215000to86000andreducedbudgetforitsR&Dactivities(2011).

TheorganizationalcultureatIBMalsochangedhugelyaftertheturnofeventswithinternetcomingintothepicture.Theemployeesweredrivenbythedesiretowakethecompanyup.Themovementofpeoplefromvariousteamsendedtheparochialisticoutlookofemployees.Thetopmanagementwhowerebusyfightingtheirturfbattles inthepaststartedsupportingthechangesthatwerehappening.ThiscanbeseenwhentheCEOofthecompanyLouGerstnerwasencouragingtheteamofPatrickandGrossmanintheirinternetendeavorsandthechangeshemadetothestructure.Gerstnerprovidedtheboosttothewebheadsby“puttingthecompany’squarterlyandannuallyreportsonWeb”andbysigningakeynoteaddress at the Internet World (Hamel, 2000). Patrick’s boss, VP for strategy and development, JimCanavinoencouragedPatrickandGrossman’steamtoremainatthegrassrootsleveltonotbeinvolvedinanykindsofbudgetcutsandtosupportthebuddinginnovation.ThefactthattheemployeeslikeDavidGrossmanwereselfdriventomakeIBMriseagainshowsthattheorganizationhadgoodemploymentethicsandgoodemploymentrelationshipswithitsemployees.

EffectiveCommunication:AKeytoSuccess EffectivecommunicationwasparamounttothesuccessoftheInternetTagTeam’svisionthroughouttheentireprocess.Inthebeginning,GrossmanhadhopedtoturnIBMontothepowerofthewebthroughapersonalizedmessagetotheseniorexecutiveofIBM’smarketingdepartment,AbbyKohnstamm(Hamel,2000,p.6).Grossmandidnotgettheresultsheexpectedfromthismessage–somethinghadnotbeenfully communicated to Kohnstamm in his communication. The web, and the powerful vision thatGrossmanhadforitatIBM,ishighininformationrichnessasitisanextremelynewandnovelconceptfortheorganization,andwithpersonallyaddressedwrittencommunicationbeingbestformessagesoflowinformation richness, it is not surprising that somethingwas lostbetweenGrossmanandKohnstamm(Jones&George,2015,p.482).Grossmandidnotgiveuphere,however.Whetherheknewitornot,hisstrategytofollowupinpersonwithhighlevelIBMmanagersprovidedthemodeofcommunicationnecessaryforhishighlyinformationrichmessageasface-to-facecommunicationiscapableofcommunicatinginformationatthehighestendof informationrichness(Jones&George,2015,p.482).WhathadbeenlostonKohnstammpreviouslywasnowreceivedbyGrossman’sgreatestally:JohnPatrick.

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Throughouttheircampaign,GrossmanandPatrickappearedtobedeliberateabouttheircommunicationstrategy, properly matching the intended information richness with an appropriate communicationmedia.Whether thatwas sendingoutamassemailmessagewith their ‘GetConnected’manifesto toreachthewidestaudience(Hamel,2000,p.7),orPatrickusinghisswaytogettimeinfrontof300IBMofficerstoshowthemwhattheirorganization’spresencecouldlooklikeontheWeb(Hamel,2000,p.9).Inpersoncommunication,whereademowitheasytwo-wayconversationcouldbehad,wasalsokeytogettingGerstneronboard(Hamel,2000,p.9).PatrickandGrossmancreatedacomplementarycommunicationpairforthejobtheyhadaheadofthem.Grossman,asaprogrammer, could translate the technical sideof things forPatrick.Patrick, from themanagerial side, could translate the business world of IBM to Grossman. Patrick’s involvement alsoallowedforeasydirectverticalcommunicationwithintheorganizationashealreadyhadaseatatthetablewithotherexecutives– givingeasyaccess topeople like SeniorVicePresident for Strategy, JimCanavino, who helped keep the Get Connected group a grassroots effort rather than immediatelyincorporating itasadepartment.The importanceofvertical communicationwas soapparent to theirsuccess, theypublished it in the setof softwaredevelopmentprinciples theydeveloped for IBMWebprogramming:“Skipthekrill(gotothetopofthefoodchainwhenyou’retryingtosellyouridea)”(Hamel,2000,p.11).

ConflictResolutionandNegotiationTechniquesWhen Grossman found that that IBM's Olympic feed was being ripped off by SunMicrosystems, hecontactedtheseniorexecutiveinchargeofallIBMmarketing.However,theconversationwas‘frustrating’and Grossman had the feeling that one of themwas living on another planet. Persistent Grossman,however, sent some screenshots from Sun'sWeb site to IBM'smarketing staff. After this IBM's legaldepartmentsentacease-and-desistlettertoSun,whichsucceededinshuttingdowntheSun’ssite.Mostfrontlineemployeeswouldhaveleftitatthat,howeverGrossmandrovedowntoIBM'sheadquarters,topersonallyshowKohnstammtheinternet.HewasconvincedthatIBMwasmissingabiggerpoint:SunwasabouttoeatBigBlue'slunch.Alongwith that, Patrick, in his endeavor showed IBM's top brass the sites thatwere already up andrunning,byHPandSunMicrosystems.Hewantedtomakehispointclearthat,everyonecouldhaveavirtualpresenceontheWeb.Still,manyIBMold-timersremainedskepticalabouthisvision.However,PatrickconstantlyfoughttheIBM'snarrowoutlook,PatricktookeveryopportunitytodrivethepointthattheWebwasacompanywideissue.Patrickunitedhisfellowcounterpartsandaskedthemtoleavetheirlocalbiasesatthedoor.PatricksaidthatnobodyisfromIBMAustinorIBMGermany,theyarethepartoftheculturethatisInternet-boundarylessandflat.TheseandmanymoreincidencesshowthatGrossmanandPatrickhavetakenamorecooperativeandmore effective approach of conflict resolution to fulfil the interest of an organization instead of thecatering the personal demands. Patrick and Grossman have performed the roles of the third-partynegotiator,mediatorandarbitrator,focusingmoreontheresolutionthatisgoodfortheorganization.

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ITforInterpersonalCommunication ThekeytoGrossman’scase is thevisionthathehadofthe InternetandtheWeb,asnewformsof ITcommunication,beingthemostcrucialITcommunicationsplatformofthefuture.GrossmanandPatrick’sseminal‘GetConnected’manifesto,twoofthesixkeywaystheyoutlinethatIBMcouldleveragetheWebaredirectlyrelatedtointernalITcommunication:

1. Replacepapercommunicationswithemail.2. Giveeveryemployeeanemailaddress.(Hamel,2000,p.7)

Grossmanalsoworkedwithanother internetactivistprogrammerat IBM,DavidSinger,whohadbeeninvolvedinwritingprogramsforGopherinordertobuild,“…aprimitivecorporateintranet,”(Hamel,2000,p. 7). Corporate intranet and organization-wide email access,which are givens inmost organizationstoday,wererevolutionarytoaleadingtechnologycompanyin1994.

LeadershipinAction Grossman and Patrick formed an extremely powerful leadership duo, that together were able totransformanorganization.According to JamesKouzes andBarryPosner in The LeadershipChallenge,“Whenmakingextraordinary thingshappen inorganizations, leadersengage inwhatwe call TheFivePractices of Exemplary Leadership” (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 15). Together, Patrick and GrossmanexhibitallfiveofthesePracticesofExemplaryLeadership,whichareto:

• ModeltheWay• InspireaSharedVision• ChallengetheProcess• EnableOtherstoAct• EncouragetheHeart(Kouzes&Posner,2012,p.15).

It all startswith Grossman challenging the process. He saw IBM as a stagnant organization, foolishlyturningawayfromanimportanttechnologicaldevelopment,andhewouldnotstandfor it.Rather,hemadesuretopushandgethimselfheard,andmaketheorganizationnotice.Patrick,too,challengedIBM’sprocesses, encouraging his team to do the same: “’If you think of yourself as being in a box withboundaries,you’renotgoingtohaveanybreakthroughs.If[peopleonmyteam]cometomeandsay,‘Wefailedbecausewedidn’thavetheauthoritytodosomething,’I’llsaythat’scrazy’”(Hamel,2000,p.11).Thetwocrusaderscouldnotdothisalone,thehadtoinspireasharedvisiontogetothersbehindtheirpassion for changing IBM.Grossman’s initial passionandvisionbroughtPatrickonearly in thegame.Together,theysaturatedtheorganizationwiththeirvision,fromwidelyspreadingthe‘GetConnected’manifesto,which“…foundareadyaudienceamongIBM’sunheraldedInternetaficionados”(Hamel,2000,p.7),togivingapersonalizedpresentationtotheCEO.Throughouttheirefforts,bothGrossmanandPatrickmodelthewaybyconsistentlyactinginawaythatwasalignedwiththegoalsandvaluesthattheyhadsetout.Byconsistentlybeingseenasfocusingonimprovingtheorganization,andbeingtruetoIBM’sinterests,Grossman,Patrick,andtheirteamgainedthetrustofothersatIBM.Ratherthanengaginginthecross-departmentinfightingthathadbecomesocommon,Patrick’sgroupstayeddeliberatelyfocusedonmovingtheorganizationforward.

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Throughout their journey, Grossman and Patrick continuously enabled others to act. Their ‘GetConnected’manifesto found awilling audience of other Internet-interested individualswho nowhadpermissiontotakeaction.ByactingasavirtualteamthattranscendedIBM’stypicaldepartmentstructure,theirteamwasabletobuildtrustandfacilitatenewrelationshipsamongdifferentdepartmentsoftheorganization,andultimatelybuildgreatertrustinPatrickandGrossman.Byfocusingoncommunity,andtheideaofoneIBM,Patrickespeciallyencouragedtheheart.Whetheratthe InternetWorldshow,wherePatrickralliedhis teamofpeople fromdifferentgeographic locationswithhiswords,“WeareherebecausewearetheIBMInternetteamforthenextthreedays.YouarenotIBMAustinorIBMGermany,”(Hamel,2000,p.9),orlaterinthewayhewouldtalktopeopleinhisWebAheadteamuponlosingsomeonefromtheteamtoanotherpost:“WedidnotloseBill.Wecolonizedthenetworkhardwaredivision.Nowthereisoneofuslivingthere”(Hamel,2000,p.11).ToPatrick,histeamwasacommunity.

ChangeManagementTechniquestoEnableChangeinInformationTechnology “Companies need to be innovative, expand their footprint into new or emerging markets, and stayrelevanttotheircustomersinordertobecompetitive”(Whyabusinesscaseforchangemanagement,2014).IBMasanorganizationhasalwaysstrivedtobeinnovativeandwhenanorganizationwishestoaccomplishsuch innovationchallenge,change isan integralpartof it.Toenablesuchchangesuccessfully,changemanagementtechniquesareofutmostimportance.PatrickandGrossman'steamperformedactivitieswhichcouldbecategorizedintotwotypesofchangeswhichmanagersoftennotice:

1. RevolutionaryChange2. EvolutionaryChange

“Revolutionary change is rapid, dramatic, and broadly focused. Revolutionary change involves a boldattempttoquicklyfindnewwaystobeeffective. It is likelytoresult inaradicalshift inwaysofdoingthings,newgoals,andanewstructurefortheorganization”(Jones&George,2015,p.336).GrossmanandPatrickusedInnovationasakeyinstrumenttocreatearevolutionarychangeatIBM.Theteamidentified“Internet”astheirbroadareaoffocusandimplementedchangesrapidlytoadapttotherisingcultureofweb.“Evolutionarychangeisgradual,incremental,andnarrowlyfocused.Evolutionarychangeisnotdrasticorsudden but, rather, is a constant attempt to improve, adapt, and adjust strategy and structureincrementallytoaccommodatechangestakingplaceintheenvironment”(Jones&George,2015,p.336).The“GetConnected”manifesto,“WebAhead”projectbyPatrick’sgroupandworkingtowardsbuildinga$30billionGlobalServicesunitine-businessconsultingshowcasethegradual,incrementalandnarrowly

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focusedchangeIBMwentthroughinadaptingitselftotherevolutionarychangemadethrough“Internet”.Theteamalsosuccessfullyutilizedsociotechnicalsystemstheorybyusingtechnologyinabetterwaytocreateachangeintheorganization.Inourcase,althoughtheInternetTagTeamdidnotutilizeanyspecificchangemanagementtechniquetoimplementchangeeffectively,Lewin’sChangeManagementModelcloselyfitsourcaseandexplainshowIBMmanagedthechange.Lewin’sChangeManagementModelhasthreemainsteps:Unfreeze,ChangeandRefreeze.

Lewin’sChangeManagementModel(PlanningandExecutingChangeEffectively,n.d.)UnfreezeItistheprocessofcreatingmotivationtoimplementachange.Atthisstage,aneedforchangeiscreatedalongwithunderstandingthedoubtsandconcernsaroundit.PatrickandGrossman, identifiedtheneedfor ‘WakingupIBM’andfurtherdeterminedwhatneedstochange intheorganization.Theteambuiltamanifestoandfurthersecuredastrongsupportfromtheuppermanagementtoimplementthechange.ChangeOncetheneedforchangehasbeenidentified,througheffectivecommunicationandempoweringteamschangewillbefurtherimplemented.PatrickandGrossmanworkedtogetherasateam;GrossmanhandledthetechnicalcommunicationandPatrickhandledthebusinesscommunications.Theyfunctionedatthegrassrootleveladaptingtodifferentstrategiesinternallyandnotbeingaffectedbyotherteamsintheorganization.Grossman also changed the process of development for the Web, he introduced an on-the-flydevelopmentwhichwasthecompleteantithesisofIBM’straditionalculture.(Hamel,2000,p.9).

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Theyalsofurtherinvolvedpeoplefromvariousteamsintotheirprojectsandempoweredthemthroughtheiractionstoachievethechangesuccessfully.RefreezeItistheprocessofreturningtheorganizationtoasenseofstability,whichissonecessaryforcreatingtheconfidencefromwhichtoembarkonthenext,inevitablechange.PatrickandGrossmanworkedconstantlytoestablishastableenvironmentatIBMintheprojectswhichthey pursued. They published a set of software development principles they developed for IBMWebprogrammingtoensurethewholeorganizationwasonthesamepageandalsohelpthemtoventureoutintofurtherinnovationchallenges.

Results&BeyondIBMwhichwasinthebrinkoffailurewastransformedthroughinnovationandtheeffectiveleadershipofGerstner,PatrickandGrossman.TheInternetTagTeamworkedselflesslytowardsthebettermentofIBM.By identifyingkeyareasofgrowthandadaptingtothechangingculturetheywereabletobuilda$30billionworthGlobalServicesUnitinoversixyears(Hamel,2000,p.6).Bytheendof1998,ithadconsulted18,000projects intheareaofe-businessesandaquarteroftheirrevenueof$82billionwasfromtheinternet(Hamel,2000,p.6).Asof2015,IBMcontinuestogrowstrongandisplaced#44onthelistofForbesworld’sbiggestPublicCompanies(Theworld’sbiggestcompanies,2015).At the core, IBM was pulled from the brink of failure by embracing the ideas of a few lower-level,passionaterenegadeswithintheorganization.ThiscultureoflisteningtoindividualemployeeshasonlygrownsincethetimeofGrossmanmakinghisfour-hourdrivetoArmonk,NewYorktosellhisviewoftheWebinperson.In2003,undernewCEOSamPalmisano,IBMtookadeepdiveintoreexaminingitsvaluesforthefirsttimeinnearly100years.Ratherthandoingthisinaclosedoffboardroomwithahandfulofexecutives, Palmisano organized a 72-hour long discussion on IBM’s global intranet titled ValuesJam,where “IBMers came together to define the essence of the company.” Instead waiting for a pivotalmomentwhenitwouldbenecessaryIBMtobeshakenawakeagain,Palmisanoinvitedeveryonetothetabletoparticipateandmaketheirimpactonthedeepestdrivingprinciplesoftheorganizationdespitewheretheystoodinthehierarchy:

If there’snowaytooptimize IBMthroughorganizationalstructureorbymanagementdictate,youhavetoempowerpeoplewhileensuringthatthey’remakingtherightcallstherightway…That’swhyvalues,forus,aren’tsoft.They’rethebasisofwhatwedo,ourmissionasacompany…You’vegottocreateamanagementsystemthatempowerpeopleandprovidesabasisfordecisionmakingthatisconsistentwithwhoweareatIBM(OurValuesatWork,n.d.).

InJuly2006,IBMheldanother72-hourglobalbrainstormingsession,titledInnovationJam.Thissessionwasdesigned toallow for thebest ideas to surface throughcollaborationand theopen flowof ideasamong participants, who hailed from 67 companies, across 104 countries, totally over 150,000 totalparticipants (A Global Innovation Jam, n.d.). A second InnovationJam took place in 2008. IBM’sInnovationJams’abilitytoopenanddemocratizetheinnovationprocessisanillustrationofPatrick’sideaoftheinternetflatteninganorganizationwhenputinaction.WhatisinterestingtoseeisthattheseJamsaredirectlyrelatedtosomeoftheearlierWebworkthatGrossmanperformedduringtheircrusadewhendevelopingIBMintranets:

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Theprocessgrewoutofthecompany’srapidembraceofitsintranetinthelate1990s.ResearchshowedthatIBMerstrustedandreliedontheirintranetatunprecedentedlevels-evenmorethantheirmanagersorthegrapevine(AGlobalInnovationJam,n.d.).

WithglobalinitiativeslikeValuesJamandbothInnovationJams,itappearsthatthelegacyofGrossmanandPatrick’scrusadetowakeIBMuptothepossibilitiesthatothersareseeingfortheorganizationhasstayedstrongovertheyears.

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