The Greater IBM Connection Blog

A Global Candy Store

When my friend Suzanne Minassian-Livingston described IBM as "like a candy store" at last year's Web 2.0 Expo conference in Berlin it immediately struck a chord with me; and I've reused her slide (based on a Creative Commons-licensed image from a Flickr contributor) many times over the last year.

One of the things I've learned about the company I work for (particularly as a result of getting involved with social software, networks and communities both internally and externally) is the massive diversity the organisation has and the enormous strength that it delivers. It's a diversity that is constantly being refreshed as new acquisitions are made and new thinking and innovation joins the existing talent pool. It's a diversity that's reflected not only in the global nature of the business, but also in the different areas in which the company is engaged - from hardware, software, services, methodologies, research, all kinds of cool thinking. It seems lately that almost every day I meet someone new who has something different to share with me.

Yesterday I was presenting to a customer about what IBM has been doing internally with social networks, and how we collaborate both internally and externally. That brought me back to the diversity slide - the sweet shop, the candy store. What was really cool about that was that it enabled me to tell the story of how I'd widened my network internally, and began to reach out to people across the organisation - making friends in Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Delhi, all over the world as well as around the UK, and from all different areas of the business. One of the things that I learned as part of the briefing the IBM team delivered yesterday was about IBM's green strategy and Project Big Green - I'd heard about it before and been excited, but I learned a lot from one of our VPs about a number of different client stories where value and environmental improvements have been delivered.

It's just incredibly exciting. That, and that the fact that there's always something new to learn, coupled with the rich cultural diversity and the enormous amount of trust that I feel that the organisation places in its employees, is really what makes it such an enjoyable place to work, and that I believe makes it a really strong organisation.

Andy Piper, social bridgebuilder, IBM Hursley

Home: http://andypiper.co.uk | Twitter: @andypiper

Re-Thinking ABUNDANCE

I guess this post started with this morning's news. It seems that in whatever direction we look, there is so much need. Needs of every kind. Some caused by recent storms; some caused by neglect and indifference that has spanned decades; some by greed and self-interest; some far away; much right in our view...a neighbor, a friend, an unsuspected colleague. Need comes in a variety of diverse packages that don't always look "needy" to a casual observer.

We've all witnessed that an "abundant life" can be devastated in what seems a moment's notice with a lost job, an illness, a broken family, a financial crisis, a response from mother nature, a foolish judgment, or even an inner strength lost and not yet found.

It may seem funny for me to write about such a topic here at the Greater IBM Connection, but I know we aren't exempt from these admissions or such troubles. As I look back at my own triumphs and tragedies, I am grateful for each one and the abundance on many levels that came from them.

The needs today in so many fronts are almost too much to comprehend, but I know the solutions reside within the lives, intellect, and hearts of each of us. It isn't easy to change our ways; to think more about others; to expand our sense of connection and community. We certainly are on to something here at the Greater IBM Connection as we reach across our cultures and differences. This model has perhaps raised my consciousness about what is possible. I read once, "The biggest engineering feat is that of human will." Opportunity seems to be sitting in front of us, yes?

A while back, I had the chance to capture the wisdom for our Moments of Insight Collection at the Global Dialogue Center from the ground-breaking work of Lynne Twist, author and founder of the Soul of Money Institute. As I read the this morning's news, I thought of her lessons. In her six mini-podcasts, Money, Sustainability, Abundance, and YOU, she offers insight, moving stories, a refreshing perspective, and ideas to help you re-think the notion of abundance and much more.

I invite you to listen in... Click here

What's your view on need and abundance?
What lessons have you learned?

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
IBMer 1970 - 1991 L.A.; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco

Your chance to share a Greater IBM story

The recently integrated marketing and communications function at IBM wants to hear about your IBM experiences! If you work or have worked at IBM, please take the time to comment on your IBM experience. The most interesting and informative responses will be shared with our global team (in a short video..on a social network of course!) Please share your name, role and company for context if you can. Thanks!

1. Why did you want to work for IBM. If you were acquired by the company, how did it feel when you first heard you were going to be an IBMer? What did it mean to you?

2. Tell a story about a special moment or story – one that made you feel proud to be an IBMer.

3. What do would you like people to immediately think when they hear “IBM”?

If you don't work for IBM but would like to give some feedback on the IBM brand..you can still provide your feedback by answering some questions over on LinkedIn or by sharing your ideas on "what makes a company great "over on my blog Wonderwebby

Image of a tshirt for Alice by Alice worn by Alice

Hello out there

Hello there. I'm Shara Sokol. It's great to be here on the Greater IBM Connection Blog. Fast introduction: I am a former IBMer. I worked for the company from September 1999 to January 2005 doing events (worked the IBM Surf Shack at the Sydney 2000 Olympics in Australia!), internal and executive communications, and w3 editorial.

Since 2005, I've been sole proprietor of my own marketing communications firm, s2 creative communications. Although born in Huntsville, Alabama (dad was on a short term assignment for NASA), I am a native New Yorker. I was raised in Queens (Bayside, New York), lived on Manhattan's Upper West Side as an adult, and currently live with my husband on the beautiful Hudson River in scenic Tarrytown, New York, about a half hour north of the city.

I'm really happy because it feels like spring is almost here. There is no place like New York, in or out of the city, in the spring. When I lived in Manhattan, there were many places that I would go to mark certain occasions. My favorite place to walk in the spring was (and is) the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, where "The Angel of the Waters" bronze fountain (pictured here) stands.

It's a grand piece of public art that has some interesting history attached to it. The fountain was unveiled by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1873. In the dedication brochure, the fountain's sculptor, Emma Stebbens, likened the healing powers of the angel to that of the "clean and pure Croton water, cascading down the fountain," that brought health to the people of New York City.

I'm guessing, but I'll bet Stebbins was not only a talented artist, but a very smart woman, and a leader in her own right. As it was, she happened to be the sister of the President of the Board of the Commissioners of Central Park at the time. She also happened to be the first woman to receive a sculptural commission in New York City.

Needless to say, she knew how to "work" her connections. Being a entrpreneur these days, I can attest to the importance of making connections to keep my business successful. I'm working to help others do the same, and so is the Greater IBM Connection. I'll be co-hosting a special conference, the Greater IBM Women's Leadership Gathering, with GIBMer Debbe Kennedy this Friday, April 11 at 9:30 am, EDT.

We'll be sharing our collective stories and ideas about what it means to be a woman leader - the accomplishments, the missteps and the lessons learned. IBM women past and present are quite an impressive group. Please come and join us. Until next time ...

I AM ALSO A YOU?

The other day, I opened up an old book. I found it recently in used book store by-chance. I first was introduced to the book years ago at an IBM party in San Francisco. Its title stuck with me all these years. I AM ALSO A YOU. It is truly period piece --- a collection of thoughts with some far-out photographs, capturing the moment in time. It has a three word "Introduction" with a signed all-in-one self-portrait of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It reads Rest in Peace.

Just seeing the book again had me questioning, "Am I also a YOU?" Perhaps, when it comes to the basics of being human, I am. I bet we have much in common --- but what I love so much in people is discovering over and over again how uniquely different we are --- and how much of who we are, comes with us when we arrive on this planet. For example, I watch who my daughter has grown to be with wonder (she is also a Greater IBMer). The family resemblance is definitely there, yet there are traits that have made her uniquely her own person from the very start. Perhaps, this is what Kahlil Gibran meant in his thoughts shared in I AM ALSO A YOU:

..."You may give them your love but not your thoughts;
For they have their own thoughts.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you."

One of the things I've enjoyed most about getting to know people in the Greater IBM Connection is discovering all the new dimensions of difference that make up this global community. The cultures. The experiences. The vast range of talent. We make quite an amazing collection! There is also something comfortable about knowing we are all connected across cultures, time and distance by working for IBM. It is there I remember that I AM ALSO A YOU. I sense others see this too. It shows up when new Greater IBMers tell us why they came and what it means to them to join.

What makes you unique and different?
Have you joined us yet?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing Author
Greater IBM Connection
Founder, President & CEO
Global Dialogue Center and
Leadership Solutions Companies
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
IBMer 1970 - 1991 L.A.; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco

Discovering Meaning in YOUR WORK?

There is something special about discovering that your life’s work matters --- you love what you do --- there is real meaning in it. I had one of these moments this week. It arrived like a gift after weeks of long days and overload. I admit IBM trained me well for this kind of reality many years ago. As I recall, the learning came from a continuous practice of the “learn while doing” approach to “leaping over tall buildings” to reach some new level of service – performance – contribution – excellence. Although it was never talked about much, I’ve not met an IBMer that doesn’t instantly relate and know the exhilaration of having all the hard work pay off --- all the pieces falling perfectly into place --- that moment when the meaning of it all takes on a new significance.

Are you having flashbacks about your own experiences?

So how can we discover deeper MEANING in what we do every day?
Many years ago, one profound influence on my life that began to help me answer this question came from reading, Man’s Search for Meaning by the famed psychiatrist, philosopher, and holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl. Later in a management development class at IBM, Dr. Frankl’s messages were again highlighted by futurist Joel Barker’s recount in his now classic film, Power of Vision. I can still repeat the closing statement: “There is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future, because that’s what gives meaning to life [and our work]."

Perhaps, this question today, at this time of transition and turbulence in business and society, needs to be re-examined more than ever before. Dr. Alex Pattakos, a student of Viktor Frankl and author of Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl’s Principles for Discovering Meaning in Life and Work, asks new questions for a new time: "Why do some people seem to have an easier time dealing with complex and challenging situations than others? Why do some people seem more capable of dealing with change than others?" Dr. Pattakos offers seven core principles. Below I’ve listed them and provided a brief summary, paraphrased from his book, highlighting what they have come to mean to me:

1. Exercise the freedom to choose your attitude.
Choose your attitude; it’s a freedom we all have.
2. Realize your will to meaning.
Commit to meaningful goals that you can actualize and fulfill.
3. Detect the meaning of life's moments.
Look for the meaning at any given moment.
4. Don't work against yourself.
Avoid becoming so obsessed with outcome; it can work against you.
5. Look at yourself from distance.
Keep a sense of humor as you look back at yourself and your actions.
6. Shift your focus of attention.
Learn to focus your attention away from a problem; see beyond it.
7. Extend beyond yourself.
Look at the bigger picture; the higher purpose of what you are doing.

Does MEANING have a connection to the Greater IBM Community?
As we come together at the Greater IBM Connection, transcending time, distance, and differences across the world, we have the opportunity to find a new level of meaning in this global community we are creating. It is hard not to envision the far-reaching possibilities that social media offer to us, as others, like Andy Piper, have written about on this blog. Imagine the power of all the unique ways we discover meaning in our work and our lives coming together. Imagine what we can do together. Imagine what we can learn from one another. Nice! So I ask you:

Whether you are a current or former IBMer...

What meaning have you discovered in your "work" however you define it?

What qualities in your life's "work" mean the most?

I look foward to hearing your perspective and striking up a conversation!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing Author
Greater IBM Connection
Founder, President & CEO
Global Dialogue Center and
Leadership Solutions Companies
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
IBMer 1970 - 1991 L.A.; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco

Why network? A social software triptych

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Greater IBM "All About Blogging" event. I actually found out about it almost by accident... I hadn't been monitoring my Xing mail closely enough to spot the invitation, but when I arrived in the office that morning I saw a Twitter'ed comment from one of the speakers, Mark Cathcart, so I hurriedly looked up the details and joined the web conference.

One of the discussions that came up during the event was around why people blog, and how participating in social networks can enrich your personal connections. During the conversation, I shared a story about how I'd used my own connections through different media to join up an IBM colleague with "a friend from the cloud" in person.

I've been using various social networks for several years. About 18 months ago I was playing with a service called Plazes and randomly connected with someone in Michigan - I don't recall the exact reason why. Since then Heidi has been following my blog and I've been reading hers. We’re in very different spheres, both professionally and geographically, but it is one of those connections that I’m glad I’ve been able to make.

The week before the Greater IBM event, Heidi had contacted me asking for assistance with identifying possible areas of research into social software. I've been involved in a lot of research studies inside and outside IBM over the past couple of years so I was delighted to help. In fact, I fired a list of names and blog URLs at her, mostly of IBMers who I thought she'd find interesting - thought leaders like Jasmin Tragas, Luis Suarez and Sacha Chua.

Talking further, it turned out that Heidi was due to be travelling to Toronto merely days later, and I knew Sacha is based there. With a couple of instant messages, emails and twitters, I was able to help them to meet up in person.

Why did I subtitle this post "A social software triptych"? Well, all three of us involved have written about the experience from our own perspectives. Maybe you'll find the stories interesting and inspiring, however small the connection may seem.

Heidi Hansen
It's All Serendipitous Spontaneity

Sacha Chua
Taking it Offline

Andy Piper
Social bridgebuilding is about real world connections

I'll round this off by re-quoting from my own account of the story:

I’ve no idea whether Heidi will buy IBM software in the future as a result of knowing me (actually, I’m pretty certain she won’t, but who knows where the world will take her!). The point is that I’m enriching my own network by knowing her, and by knowing Sacha, and tapping into their skills and expertise; and of course my own network and knowledge is completely open to either of them. I don’t know what dollar value to place on that; but I know that to me, the personal connections and friendships I build using these social tools are invaluable.

Need help blogging, or building new networks through the range of online tools available? There are a whole bunch of us ready to help you to get started.

--

Andy Piper, IBM Software Services - a Greater IBM Core Connector

What am I doing here?

Let's not get existential - at least not this time of the morning, before a second cup of coffee.

No, what am I doing blogging here?  Quite often this is something we see in BlogCentral, when someone starts blogging for the first time.  People think it is a good idea but not sure why.  I have to say this is how I have felt a little about the Greater IBM Connection. So I volunteered to blog.

So as is usual in these situations I'll tell you a little about myself.

Before joining IBM I worked in local government for Northants Trading Standards Dept, as a technical assistant. This gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about consumer law, which friends and family still ask me about when they have a problem with something they bought.

I've been an IBMer for 10 years, starting in s/390 Systems Programming and then moving to Marketing Communications and now Communications, all in the UK. I've enjoyed all of it but the last couple of years has seen the most exciting action, "meeting" a new range of people through internal blogging and joining our New Media Global Footprint team.  The raft of new technology to play with is amazing and although the people sat next to me in an office may not be having such a great day I know I can always find something or someone inspiring amongst my growing internal network that triggers my next idea.

If you're interested in what I'm doing this year in our Innovation Ecosystem campaign you can read about it on my own blog.

So now I suppose I'm looking to do the same with the IBMers that have made the leap into the wider world. Get a new point of view.. navel gazing can be a bad habit.

But before that, I'm off on holiday to Taiwan for a few weeks.

Karl Roche
UK Communications Specialist,

Funny Memories at IBM

Every IBM office has its unique character --- and its own characters. My recollection is there were some pretty funny things that happened as we "leaped over tall buildings," pulled out all the stops to deliver, or just made it through a turbulent year. When I found this picture, I laughed right out loud, remembering one funny day, when a bunch of us put in the extra effort to respond to customers and laughed until we cried.

Where I worked, IBM was a well-known landmark in the midst of a bustling metropolitan business center. There were floors and floors of IBM. Our office had a H.U.G.E. bullpen. It was full of desks with phones ringing off the hook and salesmen with flying ties rushing in and out and IBM women with their arms full of technical manuals, day-timer calendars and a whole lot of navy blue. I'll let you guess the year.  LOL

We had a spirited receptionist who kept the whole crew on track. If anyone was looking for anything, she probably had it -- and if you asked for it too soon, she would let you know in a meaningful way --- "Look I have your proposal," she would say, "It is right here in my 'what-is-it folder' and when I figure out what-it-is, you'll get it back. Now, go sit down." She kept us all laughing.

One day, her switchboard went out early in the day. No one could come to fix it until the end of the day. So the only way to answer the phones was for her to run around to all the individual desks to take a message (imagine life before voicemail, email, cell, text messages, live chat...). We all tried to help, dashing here, then across the room, over a desk. She did have a creative flair for solving problems and was not afraid to make sure we did our part.

At lunch time, she went home and came back with three pairs of her kids shoe skates slung over her shoulder. Yes --- and three of us laced up those skates and flew from desk to desk to greet the IBM customers on the other end of the phone line.

How about you?

Have a funny story to tell? 

Click here to share a comment or tell your story.

Have you signed up for the Greater IBM Connection?

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing Author
Greater IBM Connection
Founder, President & CEO

Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
IBMer 1970 - 1991 L.A.; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco

Searching for my civic life

Happy New Year, everyone! Maybe I'm lazy, but I seldom think about what I want to do, or maybe more precisely, how I want to live in the new year before it arrives. I have come up with no resolutions or list of things to do. No goals, and underdeveloped expectations. As the year turned over, I did acknowledge that I have an itch, however, to get more involved in civic life. In general, I invest my time in work, family, friends, and managing my household of 1 (plus 2 cats). These are all important, yet I face a fear that I will eventually have no voice in the world if I don't start paying attention to what's external to "mine" and participating in community life.

I live in New York City, on the Upper West Side. I like this neighborhood for many of the obvious reasons -- great restaurants, shopping, architecture, access to parks, access to transportation. I like New York because it's an international city -- a place where each and every person is free to be whoever they are without being an outcast. The anonymity of the big city is comforting. I may run for the bus, arms flailing like a fool, and no one will notice or laugh at me for it. I sit on the subway and notice the people across from me, as they notice me. We stare and contemplate each other as the train rumbles on. Sometimes we judge as we look through each other; other times we cast empathy with our gazes. We keep quiet, and ultimately, we let each other pass without requiring anything of one another. To me, this social spaciousness is peaceful. I also like being here because it's familiar. My grandparents have friends who live nearby, so when I came into the city as a kid growing up in New Jersey, this is one of the areas I'd see. I feel like I'm living in one of my childhood storybooks. How romantic.

So here I am -- a single, professional New Yorker with a good job, a nice apartment (but no mortgage), and no dependents. Aside from whatever books and computer equipment I purchase, and whatever I give to charities, I have no tax deductions. And as April 15 approaches, I will, no doubt, feel the blood letting. The tax code, of all things, makes me feel disconnected from our society – a signifier of my role in the machine: money comes in, money goes out. There is so little that I do in my life that is recognized as a need or a contribution. I know I'm fortunate, but I also ask -- am I an island? am I frictionless?

I refuse to accept that notion. The first thing I did to investigate a more explicit connection to my community is look up the community board web site for the Upper West Side (http://www.cb7.org/). I spent about an hour reading through the site. Maybe I can get involved with this? One look at the meeting agendas and I thought -- maybe not, or maybe not yet. Most of what I saw was about reviewing applications for building permits and the like -- something I know little about. For now it's enough to understand that this organization is there and generally how it works.

With the U.S. presidential primary season roaring, I looked next to find a group of supporters for my favorite candidate. I found them on Meetup.com, and I attended a meeting. I didn't immediately connect with the tone and style of the group, but tried to keep my eyes wide as I experienced, for the first time, what it's like to come together with strangers around an objective. It was interesting to encounter this heterogeneous group of people. I could credit Meetup with bringing us together, but I suspect that the Community Board also sees people of all shapes and sizes pass through. It made me ask myself, though, if this was what I was looking for when I set out to get more involved with the community. I couldn't help but predict that when the primaries are over -- or perhaps even after Super Tuesday, that this group would disband. A collection of people with a common objective does not, in and of itself, a community make. Yet the fact that we all are also dedicated supporters of a person, who happens to be running for president, because of the values and ideals he embodies gave me a sense that if I needed this group outside the cause of the election that I could turn to them. From the political will of our candidate, a community has emerged.

So what else makes for a community? Having worked at IBM, I know that members of a community do not always have to live in the same geographic region. Other dimensions can connect us. I looked to my social graphs on Facebook and Linked In. Sure, I know all these people -- some better than others -- but most of them don't know each other. Perhaps a community can emerge by virtue of knowing someone, but I’m not a superstar with that sort of gravity, so my social graph, regardless of size, is not a community.

I thought about my building. There are about 35 apartments on 7 floors. Are we a community? Right now, probably not. At least, we don't behave as one. We don't know each other by name or ask favors of each other, although we do all know the super. I would recognize a few faces if I passed them on the street, but as with the subway, we seem to -- not avoid each other, per se -- but to give each other space.

Next up – my company, Avenue A | Razorfish. In some ways we behave as a community, but in many ways, these behaviors and relationships are compartmentalized. I wanted to write: "...perhaps less and less as our professional and civic lives intertwine," but I don't believe this is true. In my observation, professional and social lives intertwine, but our civic lives almost seem taboo in context of the workplace. I wonder -- what are we protecting, and from whom? I fear we have our priorities reversed. This feeling is part of the itch.

Now I consider the Greater IBM Community. What is community-like about it? How can participating in it enrich my civic life and yours? We don't work together anymore, so perhaps it's safer to talk about situations in our world that may want for some of our consideration and civic-minded sweat. In her recent post entitled "A New Year: 20,000 Moments a DAY", Debbe Kennedy challenged us to think about what we could accomplish together in the business and social networking world in 2008. For me, these two facets of life are still part of what is "mine" -- my social network and my business network rather than our network. If we think of this network as a commons and don’t worry too much about the equity each of us has in it, individually, then what sorts of activities would we do? How would we behave?

Yours truly,
Ruth Kaufman
IBMer 2003-2007, ibm.com