This amusing story is quite illustrative of the problems that IBM has as a huge, bureaucratic company.
- * * * * "I suspect this note had its origins in Westchester" * * * * *
IBM and Microsoft decided to have a competitive boat race (cloud race) on the Thames River, following the famous Oxford vs. Cambridge course. Both teams practiced hard for several weeks. Finally, on the big day, they were as ready as they could be.
Microsoft won the race by a mile.
Afterwards, the IBM team was very discouraged. A decision was made by Corporate Management that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found. A Market Driven Quality Task Force of Corporate and Division executives was set up to investigate.
The task force leader then spoke unto the Corporate Executive Committee: "The problem was that the Microsoft team had eight people rowing and one person steering; whereas the IBM team had one person rowing and eight people steering".
Henceforth the task force was asked to go back and develop a plan for the future to prevent recurrence the following year. IBM Corporate pride and image had been severely damaged – another defeat was not wanted.
Two months later, the task force reported back to the Executive Committee with their new plan: "The guy doing the rowing has got to work harder to be a Six Sigma performer". "We shall give unto him Empowerment and Entitlement; that should do the job".
But, alas, the new solution was not good enough. The IBM team lost the race by two miles.
Thence a command was handed down from Armonk: "Dismiss the rower for poor performance, sell the paddles, halt development of a new canoe, and provide our senior executives a bonus with the money saved".