We wanted to Ginni to do better. Such promise in 2012 - along with hope for some real humanity in the nasty world of IBM senior management.
The reality has been so different.
Twenty two consecutive quarters of declining top-line revenue. $106 billion in 2012 plunging to $80 billion in 2018. In that time period, IBM has made nearly 50 acquisitions. When measuring organic revenue, the drop is more like 50%.
This points to the problem that we all know is true: IBM senior management is woefully incompetent and out-of-touch. Just like the 1950s business people they resemble.
IBM executives routinely produce great spreadsheets suggesting turnaround in imminent - this time for sure. When failure inevitably occurs, they are equally skilled at showing why declines are not their fault. Can they execute on a plan? No. And why should they? Generous bonuses and almost no accountability is the rule. It all starts at the top.