IBM: The value of values (C)
This case is about rebuilding a high performance culture at IBM. The case starts in 2002, shortly after Sam Palmisano succeeded Louis V. Gerstner as Chairman and CEO of IBM. By the time Palmisano took over, the company had gone through a painful turnaround and was back on a healthy footing. The challenge for Palmisano, an IBM lifer, was how to persuade fellow IBMers to keep on changing in the absence of a “burning platform”. After ten years of sacrifice and effort, there was a real danger of slipping back into complacency. Palmisano took a bet on an online “jam” – a massive, 72-hour chat room where employees worldwide could voice ideas about the values of the company. The exercise served to showcase IBM’s technology and its willingness to tap into the ideas of its employees. It helped breathe new life into IBM’s values as well as reconnecting IBM with its heritage. Most importantly, it provided Palmisano with a collective mandate for ongoing change that, in 2010, pushed IBM’s results to new record highs.
This case explores what culture is and how it can be changed, focusing on the particular challenge of building on success. For instructions looking for a broader discussion of IBM’s major leadership and change challenges since 1993, see case IMD-4-0318.
1993-2010
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]
Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]
NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
- IBM: The value of values (A)
- IBM: The value of values (B)
- IBM: The value of values (C)
- IBM: The value of values (A)
- IBM: The value of values (B)
- IBM: The value of values (C)
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Family businesses hold a unique place in the economic and social landscape. They represent not just entrepreneurship but also heritage, values and a legacy passed down through generations.
The holiday season is a particularly demanding time for many businesses, especially for family-owned enterprises. The combination of increased business demands, tight deadlines, and family expectations can create a perfect storm of stress and exha...
You won't be able to understand how power operates in your unique context on your first day in the company, but it's highly achievable after about six months of closely observing the environment.
In the past, many business leaders could operate much like the generic merchants in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. They could pursue their own personal and corporate ends, while resting assured that an “invisible hand” would promote the pub...
Today’s chaotic and turbulent competitive context means the board’s role is more important than ever. Beyond their traditional oversight role, boards today are critical in shaping strategy, managing risks, maintaining accountability, and driving i...
In the newly revised second edition of Hostage at the Table: How Leaders Can Overcome Conflict, Influence Others and Raise Performance, clinical psychologist, distinguished leadership professor, and veteran hostage negotiator George Kohlrieser com...
Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of power, but it’s important to realize that it can be a force for good. This begins by understanding the different kinds of power.
When I was eight years old, I watched the Mexico Olympics on television and thought ‘I want to do that.’ It took eight years and an incredible amount of work, including extraordinary highs and lows, to achieve that goal.
Foxconn, a Fortune Global 500 giant and the world's largest electronics manufacturer, made headlines in 2023 by announcing a shift to a five-day, eight-hour workweek in its Chinese factories - a significant departure from its long history of exten...
September 2024 marks a turning point in corporate management and a drama in the management world, which began with an essay by Paul Graham, patron of Silicon Valley's leading startup incubator, Y Combinator.Graham coins a new paradigm, the founder...
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in Binder, Julia Katharina (Ed.); Haanaes, Knut Bjarne (Ed.) / Leading the sustainable business transformation: A playbook from IMD, pp. 19-32 / Hoboken: Wiley, 2025
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications