No institution will go through fundamental change unless it believes it is in deep trouble and needs to do something different to survive. Lou Gerstner More Quotes by Lou Gerstner More Quotes From Lou Gerstner When I arrived at IBM, there were 'Team' signs all around. I asked, 'How do people get paid?' They told me, 'We pay people based on individual performance. Lou Gerstner teampaypeople You can never be comfortable with your success, you've got to be paranoid you're going to lose it. Lou Gerstner paranoidlosescomfortable The world is full of CEOs that think that just because they write a memo or they write a letter inside an annual report or they give a little video speech that gets sent around the company, they think that's what's really going to affect employees. Lou Gerstner writinggivingthinking It is not about bits, bytes and protocols, but profits, losses and margins. Lou Gerstner computertechnologyloss Customer complaints are the schoolbooks from which we learn. Lou Gerstner inspirational-serviceinspirational-customer-serviceservice-culture Technology has limitations on what it can accomplish. You do not. Lou Gerstner limitationaccomplishtechnology The more successful enterprises are the more they try to replicate, duplicate, codify what makes us great. And suddenly they're inward thinking. They're thinking how can we continue to do what we've done in the past without understanding that what made them successful is to take risks, to change and to adapt and to be responsive. And so in a sense success breeds its own failure. And I think it's true of a lot of successful businesses. Lou Gerstner businesssuccesspast We do not need Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Education; we need a single Department of Skills that will promote an integrated approach to global competitiveness. Lou Gerstner integratedskillsneeds Quite frankly, I am not very comfortable in chitchat. When I go to board meetings, I arrive two minutes before and leave when it's over. I don't stay for lunch or go early and have coffee. Lou Gerstner lunchcoffeetwo I've been accepted at Cambridge University. I want to study Chinese history and archaeology. I want to become a student. I want to read Chinese history and go on a dig. Lou Gerstner cambridge-universitychinesegoes-on If the practices and processes inside a company don't drive the execution of values, then people don't get it. The question is, do you create a culture of behavior and action that really demonstrates those values and a reward system for those who adhere to them? Lou Gerstner leadershippracticepeople I think values are really, really important, but I also think that too many values are just words. Lou Gerstner valuesimportantthinking I look for people who work to solve problems and help colleagues, I sack politicians. Lou Gerstner helpingpeoplelooks The real mechanism for corporate governance is the active involvement of the owners. Lou Gerstner involvementownersreal What I'm trying to do is deliver results, not promises; results, not vision; results, not concepts. The world is cynical about IBM's promises. Lou Gerstner cynicalvisionpromise Every now and then, a technology comes along that is so profound, so powerful, so universal, that its impact will change everything. It will transform every institution in the world. It will create winners and losers, will change the way we do business, the way we teach our children, communicate and interact as individuals. Lou Gerstner technologypowerfulchildren IBM needed - an enormous sense of urgency. Lou Gerstner enormousibmneeded Lou Gerstner knows how to do a deal, and George Bush Sr., less so. Lou Gerstner dealsknow-howknows The Internet is ultimately about innovation and integration, but you don't get the innovation unless you integrate Web technology into the processes by which you run your business. Lou Gerstner innovationtechnologyrunning The fundamental issue is: In the world of the Internet, is there a place for a packager of services? Does the customer want to go surf the Net and go to every one of 50,000 Web sites? Or will people pay a reasonable amount for somebody to go out and preselect and package what they want? My guess is they will both coexist. Lou Gerstner issuesdoepeople
