Summary of Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.'s Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 On December 14, 1992, I had just returned from one of those always well-intentioned but rarely stimulating charity dinners that are part of a New York City CEO’s life. I had not been in my Fifth Avenue apartment more than five minutes when my phone rang with a call from the concierge desk downstairs. It was nearly 10 P. M. The concierge said, Mr. Burke wants to see you as soon as possible this evening.

#2 In 1993, IBM was looking for a new CEO. The search committee hired two recruiting firms to find the best candidates. I met with Burke and his fellow search committee member, Tom Murphy, then CEO of Cap Cities/ABC. I told them that I was not qualified for the position, and that I did not want to proceed any further with the process.

#3 I was skeptical of IBM, as I read what the press, Wall Street, and the Silicon Valley computer visionaries and pundits were saying about them. They had written a book, Computer Wars, that took a grim view of IBM’s prospects.

#4 I had been drawn to a challenge ever since I left Harvard Business School. The IBM proposition was daunting, but it was also intriguing. I wanted to meet with Paul Rizzo, an executive at IBM in the 1980s, to see how the company was planning for the future.

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