Layman leadership

							Layman leadership
   IBM's former chairman L · V · Gerstner (Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.)
Autobiography "Who Says Elephants Can not Dance", and how
he led the IBM Big Blue out of the loss of ten years ago and the brink of collapse the
shadow of the brilliant decision to revive and reform process, is described as outline
pull out collar, attractive, reading to have a sense of epiphany. In my opinion, this
book called management model, and A · Sloan's "My days at
General Motors," Sam Walton's "Sam Walton -
native Americans - my story ", (Sam Walton-Made in America-My Story),
and Jack Welch's" Jack: blunt "(Jack: Straight from
the Gut) and other great twentieth century, entrepreneurs and managers, like
autobiography, management with the immortal classic, worthy of managers,
academics and managers interested in reading again.
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   Gerstner's autobiography and biography other prominent managers have
the biggest difference, that is, it is a layman about how the leading experts in the
management model, in which the truth interesting. Gerstner no secret that he is an
outsider, he mentioned this several times in the book, and said he never intended entry
into the computer classes. But we have to admire the confidence Gerstner, Louis V.
Gerstner as IBM had to make several major decisions to turn things around
admiration, yes, has no self-confidence, how can the faith of others?
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   Why then lay experts to lead? This proposition for large enterprises and large
organizations is whether the management guide? We may interpret their own
experience with Gerstner truth about them.
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   First of all, technology companies and technology can not lack of talent, these
companies are not what most of the technical crux of the problem, but management
problems. This is American Express, Gerstner had dared to serve as president of the
management services business experience, take over the world such as
IBM's leading technology companies as chairman of the underlying
assumptions. As Gerstner said in the book: "IBM's file cabinets
were filled with a variety of winning strategy, but the company remains as frozen as
there is no improvement, the company is Yade Zhu array steering pilot revived under
the generous people. "fascination with technology companies in the
technology-easy, this is the plight of many technology companies unable to extricate
themselves into the root. One step ahead is a hero, leading two steps are martyrs, has
become the IT industry, this lesson of blood. IBM's back to life to illustrate
the plight of stalled or technology company to introduce an outsider after all, a best
managers. Fields of this issue, the technical experts, is 隔行如隔山, while an
outstanding manager who, without this restriction. Because the management
principles and methods are universal. We can even say, professional manager who
wants a real professional, amateur experts must be able to lead.
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   Second, in most cases, problems and solutions to the problem exist simultaneously,
but the correct opinion can not prevail. My experience of this as a management
consultant, Gerstner's autobiography again be verified. This is why the
need to lay and consultancy business reasons. Gerstner acknowledged the industry is
to achieve a total solution provider of IBM to service transformation, service revenue
now accounts for half of IBM. The idea of making this important transition from
Gerstner and 丹尼韦尔什 initial conversation, the latter was head of IBM services,
the department attached to IBM's sales department. Even the Welsh have
this insight, because Suffering made light, the IBM technical experts group, it is only
in response to very small. This is an inherent limitation of technology companies, was
also a lay leadership role of the space. The role of lay leadership is to be good at
identifying the correct weak voice, opinions, and making it mainstream. To do this, do
not need help brainstorming things behind closed doors, only in-depth surveys and
extensive interviews with sort out mess of clues can be obtained.
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   Third, lay leaders often have a broader vision and more objective perspective.
Gerstner who can see from this broader perspective mainly in the firm's
customer orientation and a deep understanding of enterprise mission. Gerstner, IBM
has just came into contact with a belief is formed: "IBM is the
country's wealth", which made him a kind of important mission
entrusted to him for any spin-off IBM's program very carefully. Was within
the upper hand in IBM's view, the computer industry has entered a period
of industry value chain integration division, IBM to survive, we must vertically split
into several separate divisions. But Gerstner on IBM's mission to
understand that he is not swayed by this view, and soon formed in the guiding
ideology to maintain the integrity of the company, play the scale advantages of
IBM's strategic policy. We see it is this approach, as he followed a series of
major policy decisions of the main line. This is the layman's advantage, he
would not be an advanced technology blinders and forget the mission of the enterprise.
On the other hand, outsiders do not understand technology as the details easier to
stand in the perspective of technology, customer orientation, grasp the essential
characteristics of technology to think, to correct the direction of making major
decisions. As companies of any technology decision-making, in essence, is a business
decision, it must be under the direction of the market and the evolution of society to
judge, only from the technology and advanced between the pros and cons can not
correctly judge the.
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   Fourth, the company's major business direction decisions are based on
logic and reason is very simple and plain common sense and justice, both for the
layman and the expert are the same, does not require advanced technical background
to understand and use. Gerstner as IBM chairman in office, made a number of major
business decisions, with the words of Lou Gerstner, the next a few big bets. They are:
the establishment of the overall solution to provide integrated services in the future
development of IBM's important role; the software as IBM's
future direction in the main business; re-establish the chip business as one of the core
business of the status of IBM; and break the original The products are divided
according to the institutional division, according to customer base to establish the
basic structure of the organization. Gerstner also made two strategic decision to give
up, they are: withdrawal of application software business, and abandon the OS / 2
systems to counter the efforts of Microsoft's Windows system, which has
spent billions of dollars IBM R & D costs, and is tied to the feelings of
many IBM engineers. This is really the important decision of several historic.
However, we can see from the book, several major decisions that the basic
assumptions underlying reasons are simple and the industry consensus.
Gerstner's words, with these assumptions: first, "all
customer-oriented"; second, "I believe, to differentiate into
thousands of industry players, will make information technology services to the entire
information industry, a huge The growing market segment "; Third,
the" networked computing model will replace personal computers
dominate the world situation. " Gerstner is not the first one to raise these
predictable, but he was able to rule these markets and by the trend of logical thinking
and judging all the problems of people. This once again shows the advantage of
outsiders.
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   Finally, the layman is not Yiwusuochang, lay the manager's expertise is
management and leadership skills. As a layman, Guer easy style democracy, because
do not know, etc, so it is a wise. Often do not understand is not a weakness, and
sometimes anti-into a limited proficiency. Entrepreneurs and professional managers,
the technical background is important, but not essential, leadership is the most
important and most scarce. Gerstner deeply understand this. IBM created for his
personal business commitment to the senior leadership of the system (PBC), took
leadership assessment and training in an important position. Gerstner's
leadership standards emphasize insight, fast execution, perseverance and the pursuit
of passion for the cause. Especially the last one, he considers the core of leadership
qualities. In particular, he pointed out: "a devious person, in any case
should not be appointed as the leader of any company or organization."
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   In fact, the layman leadership is a universal phenomenon. Year military career in
general, out of uniform can be excellent in leading the development of the atomic
bomb, can satellite into space, you can manage the physical, diplomatic, economic
and universities. Even today, China's outstanding business leaders also no
lack of demobilized soldiers. As for the enterprise layman leadership phenomenon
even more numerous. Why business leaders should be interested in training to enable
them to serve many different departments? Is to bring them to train to become
generalists, what is liberal? Generalists is the layman. Managers do in fact is no
turning back, many people engage in technical management initially did not want to
fear that a managerial position, took technical knowledge and skills to all abandoned,
and never even think about resumed business.
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   If not for the layman to lead the professionals, managers who are willing to do?
Gerstner's autobiography of the professional managers of inspiration lies in
the need to expand the professional field other than their own knowledge and vision,
read more philosophical, historical, political, economic, military classics, and
celebrity autobiography, or even hear a lot of symphony and she will pay attention to
Allegro, Adagio, height and pace, and will not fight a ground war of attrition old brain.
Operating on the more there is no thought, the more you want to study; career is, the
less sense of direction, the more need to drive around to visit. Constantly improve
their quality humanities and social sciences. Enterprises bigger, that is, a political, to
do history and life. Again, management is the practice, science, art and technique of
the sum of effort outside of poems.