Continuing to drive change while building on the best (and only the best) of the past is the ultimate description of the job of Chief Executive Officer, International Business Machines Corporation.
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I have always believed a successful company must have a customer/marketplace orientation and a strong marketing organization. Thatâs why my second step in creating a global enterprise had to be to fix and focus IBMâs marketing efforts.
This kind of wrenching cultural change doesnât happen by executive fiat. As I found, I couldnât flip a switch and alter behaviors. It was, by any measure, the hardest part of IBMâs transformation, and at times I thought it couldnât be done.
Nothing can stop a cultural transformation quicker than a CEO who permits a high-level executiveâeven a very successful oneâto disregard the new behavior model.
IBM LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES
Focus to Win
- Customer Insight
- Breakthrough Thinking
- Drive to Achieve
Mobilize to Execute
- Team Leadership
- Straight Talk
- Teamwork
- Decisiveness
Sustain Momentum
- Building Organizational Capacity
- Coaching
- Personal Dedication
The Core
- Passion for the Business
If a CEO thinks he or she is redirecting or reintegrating an enterprise but doesnât distribute the basic levels of power (in effect, redefining who âcalls the shotsâ), the CEO is trying to push string up a hill.