Why don't we make personal computers anymore?

The former head of IBM (who was recently replaced by Ginny Rometti), Mr. Sam Palmisano, was known for some, sometimes abrupt and decisive actions, while he was the CEO of one of the largest corporations in the world. These actions can be treated differently, but in any case it is interesting to find out what the director of this level was guided by when making decisions at the global level.



And not so long ago, there was a chance to find out why IBM became the company that it is now - Sam gave an interview to The New York Times , which, in particular, answers the question: “Why did IBM sell its own production of computers from Lenovo ?



First, as Sam Palmisano argues, with his company, IBM focused its efforts on getting out of the “low-profit and fading business sectors” and, not surprisingly, according to Sam, the personal computer market was the first in this category.



According to Sam, he saw no room for innovation (at least in the corporate market) in the PC manufacturing and sales sector and felt that “the innovation hub will shift to the area of ​​services and software”. In principle, we see that this is exactly what is happening in the field of information technology today, however, for Sam it was a very difficult decision, which was made with difficulty and the negotiation process was delayed.

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Also, Sam says that when the company through its internal channels announced a desire to sell its “personal” part (which largely made the company exactly what it is today), many companies, including Dell and other PC manufacturers / vendors, expressed a desire However, IBM finally decided to cooperate with China (that is, in fact, IBM sold the production not to a private Chinese company, but to the Chinese government, which controls absolutely everything, especially production), which wants to expand its global influence from their own corporations.



Those who are interested in Sam's story can read the original text, in which the former head of the company talks a lot about how IBM works and at what level, and most importantly, how decisions are made in one of the most advanced companies in the world. Naturally, in English.



In an interview with another publication , the Harvard Business Review, Sam described 5 steps that, in his opinion, will lead to the success of many companies without a clear mission and help to understand which direction to take:



Step 1. The strategy and organization of work should impose a vision of the future of the company on all products, services and work itself.

Step 2. Get rid of the business that “does not suit you” and acquire the skills that you really need.

Step 3. Make sure your economic model is capable of making a profit.

Step 4. Strengthen the teams and make them able to satisfy the buyer / client, but do not inflate them to uncontrolled sizes.

Step 5. Take care of success within the company and within yourself.