The Greater IBM Connection - on the blog side

RECOGNIZING POTENTIAL IN GREAT IDEAS

Recently, I was talking to long-time colleague, Dr. Alex Pattakos, founder of the Center for Meaning and author of Prisoners of Our Thoughts. We had a great chat about my experience of the Greater IBM Connection and the potential so many us see in this business and social networking IDEA. He immediately saw the possibilities for meaningful innovation by connecting all that IBM talent across the world.

Then he followed it up by saying, "You know, I have a connection to IBM, too!" He went on to tell me his story about how one of his creative ideas was showcased by IBM in a special program called INNOVATION IN ACADEMIC COMPUTING over 20 years ago. In the mini-podcast below, Alex shares his story of IBM recognizing the potential in his forwarding-thinking idea called the "Electronic Visiting Professor" that he brought to the University of Maine. Using IBM PCs, he was able to bring in faculty members from around the world into the rural campus in Orono, Maine, expanding the learning experience through technology. Alex also shares his perspective about the Greater IBM idea after hearing about it and visiting our blog and website.

My Talk with DR. ALEX PATTAKOS

download MP3

IBM's eye for recognizing the potential in a great idea isn't new. This is a quality I've learned to more fully appreciate as I've seen and experienced its reach over the years --- and it continues here at Greater IBM and in other initiatives. One of my personal favorites is the Global Innovation Outlook, where IBM is joining together with leaders from business, academia, and politics from around the world to create new opportunities for business and society.

Do you have a story to share from your own experience past or present?

debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing Author
Greater IBM Connection
Founder, President & CEO
Global Dialogue Center and
Leadership Solutions Companies
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
author, Putting Our Differences to Work (Berrett-Koehler June 2008)
IBMer 1970 - 1991 L.A.; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco

Imagination in the Enterprise

Once, not too long ago in the Enterprise people found themselves working ever so diligently and thought everything was just honky dory thank you very much. Yet they were completely oblivious to the terrible neglect their creative souls were facing. They had forgotten how to imagine, they had stopped practicing the power of insight and ideas were fast becoming stale. The ability to create without inhibition had been lost. Day and night, they toiled over their business problems, trying to figure things out by themselves.

And then… information was given a name. Your name. Your face. Your likes and dislikes. People started using social media to share opinion and thoughts online. Previously suppressed ideas were openly expressed and socialized.  People began to find their unique voice once more. Authentic expression was embraced. The global drumbeat of new content creation was heard throughout the Enterprise as social networks were formed.

Stories of life, hope and tragedy were shared. People around the world were compelled to take action and quickly formed online communities. Creative souls were stirred to think about the possibilities. They began to imagine great things as ideas were shared from the inside out; as seemingly abstract concepts were externalized they were developed into innovative solutions, alongside others who saw their potential.

The people had found a way to connect and create, but most of all they now had confidence to express themselves and use their unique voice.

Image courtesy of Alice Bartlett

Social Computing has opened up new ways for people to solve problems, work with ideas and imagine great things. Have you given your team the opportunity to express themselves?

Jasmin Tragas aka Wonderwebby is a Managing Consultant at IBM working in the area of Knowledge, Collaboration and Learning Services, HCM, Australia.

The Wisdom of THIS Crowd

"The human resource...is, of all resources...the most productive, the most versatile, the most resourceful." 

--- Peter F. Drucker
"father of modern management"

Hello...
Everyday we have a stream of new members joining the Greater IBM Community. It is amazing to see IBMers showing up from every part of the world. Some are working in new companies; some are looking for new opportunities; leading their own organizations; stepping up after retiring wanting to stay connected and involved; or working on innovation that matters at IBM somewhere in the world today. Every day as more and more of you show up to join the community, I can't help thinking what will we do together? How will we redefine what it means to be productive, versatile and resourceful as a virtual community across the world?

What ideas do come up for you?

James Surowiecki, bestselling author of The Wisdom of Crowds, found that there are three conditions that bring out the best in a crowd: aggregation, diversity, and independence. Each one calls for a new mindset and day-to-day conscious collaboration. Let me share my interpretation of what I learned from his findings. If you see something different, I invite you to leave a comment to round out the learning for everyone:

1. Aggregation:
Forming judgments by combining the best of our opinions into better decisions than we might make by seeking consensus of one idea.

2. Diversity:
A group with a diversity of opinions, perspectives, and different problem-solving tools and methods.

3. Independence:
People acting independently; the individuals thinking for themselves and relying on their own information and ideas.

Surowiecki speaks of "cognitive diversity" as a kind of power tool for igniting the wisdom within a crowd. When I think about the Greater IBM community and all the knowledge, experience and wisdom that resonates from its collection of members, it is easy to see there is much to gain from us coming together. Think of all the unique perspectives that come from who we are as individuals --- representing a wide array of ethnic origins, cultural backgrounds, generational insight, thinking and problem-solving styles, global know-how, marketplace understanding, technological acumen, and all the dimensions of diversity that make us unique as individuals and give us a distinctive window into the world. There is the power tool for the Greater IBM community.

What possibilities do you see for putting the wisdom of THIS crowd together?

What experiences have you already had that support the wisdom of crowds?

I'd love to know what you think! ...and if you've not yet joined the Greater IBM Connection, we welcome you!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing Author, Greater IBM Connection
Founder, President & CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
IBMer 1970-1991
Los Angeles; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco

A New Kind of EXCELLENCE for a New Time

Hello!  I’ve been thinking about all of you that might stop by. Then I found myself wondering where to start and how to make friends. If you are here, there is a reason --- and I wonder if yours may not be so far from mine --- or if it is, perhaps, you will tell us about it. Let me start the conversation by sharing a few things that have been in my mind...

There is something powerful about the potential of the Greater IBM Connection across the world. It’s hard not to imagine possibilities when so much talent is coming together. I admit that when I first heard about it, my pioneering spirit was moved. In this gathering, we might spark some new level of innovation or open a new pathway we might not have seen on our own --- perhaps even make the world a better place than we know today, because of just the right people finding one another.

I’ve had a grand time building a business and working to make a difference since I left IBM. No doubt many of you have unique stories and experiences that reflect significant achievements in your own right and I hope we get to learn more about where you been and what you've accomplished. I must admit I’ve become much more consciously grateful about all I learned and experienced at IBM, some of which wasn’t so obvious in the rush of business during the rewarding years that seemed to fly by.

There are many things about IBM that have grown and changed. It seems friendlier and more open. I love seeing the new values that have the fingerprints of IBM people all over them. It made me proud when I read about how it happened. If I were to pick out one IBM attribute that seems unchanged, it would be EXCELLENCE. It isn’t demonstrated so much in words, as it is in actions, execution, and people. My very first tour of Greater IBM in Second Life proved this point (If you've not yet visited, check it out on YouTube). Since then as I’ve watched and Debbe Dae (my avatar) has experienced its many innovations come to life through the mastery of its IBM creators --- in every way, the EXCELLENCE speaks for itself.

In reflection, the notion of EXCELLENCE was center stage in my leadership career with IBM. My mentors over the years clearly exemplified this belief in their work, lives and overall successes. Funny, as I’ve visited and gotten involved at the Greater IBM Connection, I’ve thought of many who inspired me. They helped me, by their example, see the difference between mediocrity and EXCELLENCE. While watching them, I observed that building a reputation for EXCELLENCE eliminates questions, opens doors, brings opportunities, and adds an element of integrity to one’s work and leadership that others notice and customers want.

A NEW KIND OF EXCELLENCE FOR A NEW TIME
New Questions to Consider... What do you think?
Whether you are new to IBM, seasoned, spent a long time or just a brief time, it seems collectively we have found ourselves at the threshold of a great opportunity to demonstrate a new kind of EXCELLENCE right here as part of the Greater IBM Community. A highly respected customer executive told me one time that leadership has a Germanic origin, meaning to “find a new path.” This seems to be the calling for all who show up here. The question waiting to be more fully answered is how will we come together across generations, cultures, differences and distance to contribute to a new kind of EXCELLENCE at a new time in history with all the talent showing up from every corner of the world?  What do you think about it?

What does excellence mean to you?

What possibilities do you see in what we could do together?

What makes you want to be part of it?

As I ponder these questions more myself, I hope you’ll share your thoughts. Make a connection.
Stop to say hello.

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing Author
Greater IBM Connection
Founder, President & CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
IBMer 1970 - 1991
Los Angeles; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco

Greater IBMers – You have an opportunity

By Flor Estevez, operations manager, The Greater IBM Connection

When I joined IBM in 1999, I came from the furthest point away from a corporate environment like IBM you could be. I had my own business, residential real estate in the Caribbean, staff that included a driver, cook, secretary, assistant and salesperson. I made very decent money working 8 -9 hours a day, five days a week and some weekends.  Palm trees waved in a constant breeze, sun shined perfectly, the grass was always green and I had 63 orchid plants hanging by the side of my "villa" overlooking one of the world's top golf courses. I rode horses when I wanted to, went to the beach midday, had no Sametime, or email following me everywhere, could take long lunches and dinner meetings.

Don’t misunderstand. I ADORE what I do now, but I miss the strong sense of teaming and commitment my staff and I shared with our clients.   

We have a wonderful community of 7,500, sharing a common bond of the IBM experience. And we can grow this community together. I want to see in this community that same sense of teaming and commitment that I knew before.

What I have loved about IBM is pretty much what I think most of you have loved; working with very smart people, who care about the quality of their work, care that things get done well – and want to make a difference.

That’s who you were and it’s who you still are.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've spoken to many of you who are the most active in the forums and some who email me regarding events and other happenings in the Greater IBM community. I love it when we correspond and talk; it makes everything feel more human.   

This community didn’t “just happen” you know. Before we launched The Greater IBM Connection, we hired a research firm and traveled to five areas of the world, asking former IBMers like many of you whether you would find value in a social and business network based on your IBM affiliation.

One of the first things we learned: you don’t want to be considered alumni. You said you still felt an important emotional tie to the company and its people, your old colleagues, and maybe some still working here.

So, we aren’t an “alumni” group; we’re Greater IBMers.

You also said there were some things you would value. Contact with former colleagues, and
The ability to network, for friendships, for business opportunities, for extending your experience – many reasons and, since you joined, I’m sure you have your own.

We chose a company named XING to host the Web portal, because it's the most comprehensive, open standard, social networking, global platform network host we could find, and it had the strictest privacy laws to abide by.  Then we began to populate this site with the sort of content you told us you wanted: the kind of thought leadership and business insight from IBM and IBMers past and present, you used to have access to when you got a paycheck from the company.

You also asked to have events where you could trade smiles and shake hands: business events, social events, Webinar, coffees. We've been creating those.

So that’s what we’ve done, so far, and we have a lot more planned in the future. That’s what those of us who are in the inside working for you, the Greater IBMers who make up this growing community.

And that’s where I need your help. We can provide the opportunity, but it’s up to you to make it your own so that this network truly is driven by the interests and needs of the Greater IBMers “out there”.

I want to see more people involved the way our most active members are involved, sharing ideas, raising issues, adding your own insights to the content you find in The Greater IBM Connection, whether it’s in our articles or in a Blog or a Forum – or an event that you join. Or, even better, an event you organize.

We’ll help you. There are tools to help you plan and execute a local event. Write me and ask how.

Just as important, I need you to invite your friends who work at IBM or who used to work at IBM. They can gain value from being a part of The Greater IBM Connection – and that just makes it more valuable for all of us.

I need you to send me questions or write the editor. Share you opinions on the community, its intent, the direction you perceive it’s going. Take pictures of your Greater IBM get-togethers and write up what you are doing in those pictures. You can even share your humor (yeah, we still laugh occasionally in the Blue World! )

I need partners and colleagues in growth. I want to find  folks to raise their hands a and say "yes I will come and show up" - to the event, to the tabs to see new content, to promote ideas, to benefit discussions, to provoke opinions, even to take and take, but eventually to give also.

Send me your thoughts.

I’m waiting.

New Chapter for The Greater IBM Connection

By Kevin A. Clark

Please meet Ethan McCarty, who starts today as the leader for The Greater IBM Connection.

Ethan McCarty

He's a truly talented fellow who I've come to admire over the past couple of weeks in background briefings about you, our members, and our goals. Ethan is the Editor-in-Chief of w3, IBM's employee intranet news and information service, and now adds The Greater IBM Connection and IBM Alumni Relations to his responsibilities. He is a member of the IBM Corporate Communications team. Please join me in welcoming Ethan to his expanded role.

Today marks a new chapter in the evolution of IBM Alumni Relations and The Greater IBM Connection with the strategic alignment of IBM's powerful internal web resources for the benefit of The Greater IBM Connection members worldwide. Look for great things in the future. Flor Estevez, our Operations Manager & Producer, and Larry Phipps, our Editor for The Greater IBM Connection, both move to Ethan's team.

Thanks to each of you for being with us on the first part of a long journey we're starting with IBM alums. I want to thank every member who's given of themselves to host a gathering, post a news item. or just visited The Greater IBM Connection regularly. A special thanks to the IBM Alumni Relations Core Team listed below for your unwavering support and fundamental contributions to The Greater IBM Connection: Bettina Kahlau, Deborah Kasden, Eve Iannuzzi, Flor Estevez, Jack Mason, Kevin Aires, Larry Phipps, Lois Dwyer, Pauline Ores, and Sandor Barany. Every one of these professionals, along with too many more to list here, have worked to reconnect Greater IBMers around the world for business development and professional benefit.

Greater wishes for success to you all.

NEW LOOK AND FEEL

Come see our renewed site at www.greateribm.com

By Kevin A. Clark, Global Network Leader, The Greater IBM Connection

Check out the new look and feel for The Greater IBM Connection web portal.

A great deal of the site refresh came from input from you, our members.

You'll see the difference as soon as you open www.greateribm.com: a fresh look and content to match on five new tabs:

Check it Out - the source for news and features - and our new "on the job front" section

Greater IBMers - all about the people of Greater IBM, both former and current IBMers, at times with a lighter touch

Business Leadership - a source for Greater IBMers to tap into the reservoir of IBM resources

Guess What! - setting the stage for a new innovation portal - and a contest for members to "guess what's up at Greater IBM"

Mark Your Calendar - keep track of an increasing number of events involving or of interest to Greater IBMers

Right now we're featuring a podcast with venture capitalist and former IBMer Dr. Barbara Grant, and showing off the new virtual IBM Business Center.  We also have an interview with 30-year marketing veteran and Greater IBMer Roger Wilson about his outreach to the underprivileged in our "Making a Difference" column, along with a link to a podcast with Stan Litow on IBM's corporate responsibility and philanthropy programs. 

There's so much more, so check it out and invite an alum to join today!

Many thanks to Larry Phipps who provided the editorial leadership here and guidance and input from Flor Estevez, Jack Mason, and many others.  Special thanks also goes to the IBM design team in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA (D&ID - Development & Information Design), including JuJuan Mitchell, Missy Johnson, Martha Hufham, Susan Jasinski, and Eugene Bur -- and design inspiration from Tristan Reckhaus from IBM Germany.

Thanks for your continuing support of our growing program.

With greater wishes for every member,

Kevin

PartnerWorld Update

Kevin Clark, Global Network Leader, The Greater IBM Connection

Reaction to The Greater IBM Connection at PartnerWorld in St. Louis this week has been overwhelmingly positive.  It's been great meeting former IBMers who are IBM Business Partners today and getting them introduced to the program and signed up as members.  The general sentiment is: there's never been a better time to reconnect and stay in touch.

We hosted our first alumni event at PartnerWorld, too.  We'll post some pix of The Greater IBM Connection reception soon.  All around us was enthusiasm for more outreach and growth.  We also had a lot of fun connecting with everyone there.   Attending PartnerWorld overall is giving us lots of ideas to make Greater IBM stronger as we move forward.

Over the past three days we've been interviewing Greater IBMers for future editions of the new podcast series Greater Voices.  We have 20 interviews so far, in both English and Spanish, so look for the first of these new podcasts expanding our editorial coverage of Greater IBMers and what they're doing today in the new few weeks.

For news from PartnerWorld go to the Greater IBM Connection on Xing.

It's gratifying to feel the momentum and support we're getting.  Keep spreading the word.  Greater IBM is in St. Louis in strength this week, and as close as your keyboard.  We'll keep you posted on upcoming events.

Regards,

Kevin

From PartnerWorld 2007: Gateway to Growth

Kevin Clark, Global Network Leader, The Greater IBM Connection

Monday, April 30, St. Louis, Missouri, USA: The first main session presentations for PartnerWorld 2007 took place this morning, although many of Sunday's registrants took advantage of the Solutions Center demonstrations to begin exploring new opportunities and launching the networking that is part of the conference experience.

More than 4,500 professionals are registered this year for the show. This morning they heard from IBM executives Ravi Marwaha, Steve Mills, Val Rahmani, Marc Lautenbach, and business author and creativity and innovation thought-leader, Sir Ken Robinson. The theme of PartnerWorld 2007 is "Gateway to Growth."

Flashback: This morning during breakfast I ran into Wirt Cook, (vice president, Americas Sales West, IBM Sales & Distribution), who I worked with 25 years ago to help start the IBM Business Partner program. The roots of the IBM Business Partner program goes back to the decision to broadly sell IBM AS/400 computers through third parties. At the time I was in communications working with marketing to find the right name, value proposition, supporting programs, and launch plan that would become the IBM Business Partner program today. It was great to see you again, Wirt. Looking forward to catching up with you on my next trip to the U.S. west coast.

Fast forward to this morning and Ravi Marwaha's opening remarks. Marwaha is general manager, Global Business Partners for IBM. I've known Ravi for about ten years now; we both served in what was called the Personal Systems Group (PC Company, Printer Systems, Retail Store Systems). He stated IBM's commitment to growing business together, creating business opportunities, and sustaining strong relationships. "It all starts with partnership," says Marwaha, "we solve more problems for more clients than any other partner organization in our industry." He spoke about the ongoing quest to make it easier to work with IBM, including recent announcements simplifiying the bid process and deal process, and providing contracts in electronic form. See more about announcements made today from St. Louis in the article reposted from w3 (IBM's internal web service for employees).

Steve Mills talked about the challenges facing the US$1.2 trillion IT industry today. Mills is the senior vice president and general manager of Software Group for IBM. "We're in an era that's not about technology, it's a business and customer era," says Mills, "it's not about gadgets, its about value." He also points out that "labor dominates IT spending, with almost 50% of every dollar going to human talent," says Mills, "which is why we're relentless about skill building." He continued, "Our challenge is that nothing ever goes away in this industry with literally billions of applications running today, resulting in high levels of complexity" for businesses large and small. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), is "the rallying point for legacy assets and applications," where we can find common ground for integration and elimination of redundancy. Mills offered the resources of the 60 software labs IBM has around the world as an asset to support clients and IBM Business Partners around the world.

Val Rahmani, general manager, Infrastructure Management Services, Global Technology Services (GTS) for IBM, followed Mills with news about "service products" for customers and IBM Business Partners. "Last year I said we want to do a lot more business with you, and I'm saying it again this year," says Rahmani. "A year ago I was told we had 1,000 service offerings for our customers. No one can understand 1,000 offerings. You didn't know how to work with us, and we didn't know how to work with you." Rahmani told the gathered partners about taking best-of-breed technology-based service offerings and packaging them in ways partners would recognize from our hardware and software business units. "You'll have all the pieces you expect from IBM, including hardened specifications and customer references, now in the services space," say Rahmani.

Marc Lautenbach, general manager, IBM Americas, gave the final executive presentations for the morning. He spoke of IBM's dedication to its economic future with IBM Business Partners. He also addressed the nature of value, pointing out that value is not static. We're all going to change along with our clients to be competitive. "Value vs. volume" is no longer an appropriate measure, "we should now organize and reward based on dedication to competencies," says Lautenbach. "One thing that nags at me is how to invest in skills as we struggle to deliver what all our customers expect. What really counts is what happens after we leave PartnerWorld and what we execute in the marketplace," says Lautenback, saying he has no doubt "our best days are ahead of us."

The morning concluded with Sir Ken Robinson, author and expert on creativity. He gave the audience a test by raise of hands rating themselves on creativity and then on intelligence. He said the outcome was predictable. "We give ourselves different marks for creativity and intelligence, says Robinson, yet "creativity is the highest skill and manifestation of intelligence." They are intrinsically linked. "Our formal education is a pivotal process issue in separating intelligence and creativity," says Robinson and he encourages all of us to integrate them again. He quotes Picasso as saying everyone is born creative, yet the spark is lost as we become adults. The key is to retain creative confidence as adults to fuel the growth and success of our organizations. "Imagination is the prerequisite to creativity, creativity is putting imagination to work," says Robinson, and "innovation is applying creativity for purpose."

Our next installment from PartnerWorld 2007 is tomorrow, Tuesday, May 1. Executive speakers will include Sam Palmisano, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of IBM -- Steve Solazzo, general manager, Global Small & Medium Business for IBM -- Rod Adkins, vice president, Development, Systems & Technology Group for IBM -- and guest speaker Dr. Laura D'Andrea Tyson, author and global economic advisor.

Additional details from PartnerWorld are availble here, on the Greater IBM portal. That’s all for now at PartnerWorld 2007. I’ll be back with another report as the conference continues:

Checking in from St. Louis - a PartnerWorld report for Greater IBMers

Kevin Clark, Global Network Leader, The Greater IBM Connection

We are at PartnerWorld 2007 "Gateway to Growth" this week and providing coverage of this annual IBM Business Partner Event. While we're checking in to PartnerWorld, you should check out The Greater IBM Connection every day through May 4 to get updates and news from the show. PartnerWorld this year is being held in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, and starts tomorrow, Sunday, April 29.

If you're headed to St. Louis for PartnerWorld, we have great weather in store for you. It's a bright and sunny day today, Saturday, April 28. The next three days will also be sunny with a chance of showers on Tuesday, then partly sunny the rest of the week. The high Sunday will be in the mid-80s/26 (degrees Fahrenheit/degrees Celsius), Monday near 90/31, Tuesday dropping back to 80/28, then 75/23 the rest of the week -- and it never drops below 50/12 overnight.

The first wave of the The Greater IBM Connection core team is in St. Louis now and the rest of our five-member group arrives on Sunday. We're looking forward to meeting all the alums attending PartnerWorld from all over the world and hosting them at our reception on Tuesday night from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel in the Majestic Ballroom.

You can also find representatives of The Greater IBM Connection in the in the Market Solutions section of the Solutions Center at Pedestal 413. Come see us!

For all our other Greater IBMers around the world, we have a front-row seat at the show for you with team coverage from St. Louis through Thursday, May 4.

Today's activity is centered on the St. Louis Convention Center, where the show floor, main session hall, and executive offices are taking shape for the show opening tomorrow afternoon.

The theme of PartnerWorld this year, "Gateway to Growth," is an echo of the world-famous Saint Louis Arch -- known as the "Gateway to the West" (of the U.S.).  It was designed by Eero Saarinen and dedicated in 1966. Saarinen, who is also the architect of the IBM Research building in Yorktown Heights, New York (dedicated in 1961), also won the design competition for the St. Louis Gateway Arch in 1961. The $30 million arch is sited on the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park on the banks of the Mississippi River, which opened in 1935. The park and arch are dedicated to the growth of the United States west between 1803 and 1890.

The stainless steel arch is the tallest memorial structure in the U.S., rising from a 60-foot foundation to soar 630 feet. Architect Saarinen, who was born in Kirkkonummi, Finland in 1910 and died in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1961, also gave birth to Dulles Airport serving Washington, D.C. international flights (1962), the Berkshire Music Shed at Tanglewood, Massachusetts (1940), and the General Motors Technical Building at Warren, Michigan (1955).

To see pictures of the St. Louis Arch and learn more about its background from an architectural perspective, go here:

More from PartnerWorld 2007 in St. Louis soon!

With greater wishes for every member,

Kevin