The Greater IBM Connection - on the blog side

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.

How are Greater IBM’ers Connecting?

I would like to see more GIBM blog posts, articles, and overall communications about how Greater IBM’ers are connecting and collaborating with each other in unusual ways to make a difference.  That's what this is all about, right?

OK, here's one for you...

After 11 years at IBM (’95-’06), I spent 18 months producing my very first (but hopefully not my last) feature length documentary film. Yes, IBM marketing chick turns filmmaker.  Some people take up knitting. Me? I make a movie, go figure. J I have to say, it was probably one of the most complex projects I’ve ever tackled and yet the most creative, rewarding and fun.

Our film, “Single” (www.singlefilm.com) is about the growth of the unmarried population and the complexities of finding and maintaining a lasting relationship in today’s crazy world. We even explore how technology has helped and hurt us in this regard. My film partner, Richard Atkinson, and I completed it earlier this year and I’m pleased to say that feedback from initial audiences has been *overwhelmingly* positive. We are still in the early stages of public awareness and promotion, but the film seems to strike a strong personal chord with all viewers - regardless of age, gender, and relationship status.

And I have to thank a number of IBM’ers – past and present, and on both sides of the Atlantic – for playing a role (figuratively and literally!) in my wonderful filmmaking adventure.

• One current IBM VP (and former manager) introduced me to an author who wound up being one of the star experts of the film.
• One current IBM’er composed and recorded some instrumental music to help set the mood in a few key scenes. Funny thing, I worked with him for a couple of years and didn't even know he played a musical instrument till now!
• One current IBM’er (and former manager) saw an early preview of the film and blogged about it at her online journal – and her posting generated over 250 comments and led to a huge spike of hits to our web site.
• And possibly the coolest thing: A few IBM’ers (past and present) can now add “movie star” to their professional resumes.  How many IBM’ers can say that?!  J Watch the trailer below and you might spot some familiar faces (including mine)!

Without the contributions of these GIBM'ers, I can honestly say that “Single” would be a very different film.

So for me, this is what the Greater IBM Connection is all about. And we need to enable more of it.  More ways to make and maintain connections with each other and collaborate.  Do -- or create -- "business unusual."  Most importantly, continue to make a difference in some way...together. My example shows that the relationships we build during our time as IBM’ers can transcend the limits of our formal employment ties. And I've got a great movie to prove it! J

Got a similar story to tell? Let’s hear it!

Jane Scandurra

IBM'er '95-'06

Single - a documentary film

www.singlefilm.com

What Do We Need in Our LEADERS?

Sometimes, when you hear and watch things over and over, it is easy to begin to believe in them as truth. Lately, it seems there is a lot of talk about "toughness" being an exemplary trait of LEADERSHIP. It seems to be popularly characterized, not by one's character and integrity as a leader, but in who can talk tough, be aggressive in their language, relying on the use of combative words, like "annihilate" and "destroy;" and always be first with a "surprise attack." When I flash on great leaders in history or even ones I worked for and with, I don't recall these qualities.

My questions for you... Is "toughness" what we need most in our leaders at all levels of business and society today? ...more aggression, more "toughness," more mean-spirited actions? Is it really "tough talk" that demonstrates a steadfast, committed, influential leader?

When I think about this question myself, I find myself drawn back to what I learned at IBM as a leader that has passed the test of time. One example: When IBM was beginning its transformation back in the 1990s, we used the results of a study shared in a now classic book entitled The Leadership Challenge . What I remember is there were four traits that people said they most admired in their leaders:

• Honesty
• Forward looking
• Competence
• Inspiration

How do you think these traits stack up today?

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

IBM twitters

Trying something new, innovate how we communicate:  IBM is on Twitter.

With a big event coming up next week in the UK we have an opportunity to provide live updates from behind the scenes. Hope you can follow us and enjoy from the comfort of your home/office 

Few companies (outside those in the media) have taken the leap to use Twitter or indeed many of the web2.0 services out there like IBM has.  IBMers indeed make up a hefty number of the community on Twitter, sharing important and the seemingly less important things that make up daily life.

The mere fact we are playing in the twitterverse is get some good feedback.

Great interview with head of IBM's Almaden Research Lab

I just watched a terrific video interview with Mark Dean, who is the head of IBM's Almaden research facility in California.  He's an extremely bright and personable guy -- and happens to have been one of the core team members who invented the IBM PC.  In the video interview conducted by Robert Scoble he talks about and shows off some of the very cool technologies at IBM's labs where, incidentally, the hard drive was invented.  Check it out...you don't need a PhD to understand how exciting this is. (Posted by Ethan McCarty, IBM)

Oh, the possibilities

Imagine there are no countries, it isn't hard to do. The Médecins Sans Frontières or the doctors without borders have already dared to do so. To be one of them is to make a statement. Are there other such entities quietly in the making? Where membership doesn’t need you to make a stand? Not yet anyway?

There was once a time when the sun did not set on the British Empire. In modern times that very sun always shines on some shade of blue. As businesses continue to evolve from multinational corporations to global enterprises I can not but wonder whether the process of looking beyond the concept of the nation state and the evolution of the “enterprise state” has irreversibly begun.

The current tide is rushing towards globalization. What is a global corporation? Let me quote Sam Palmisano here:

“Simply put, the emerging globally integrated enterprise is a company that fashions its strategy, its management, and its operations in pursuit of a new goal: the integration of production and value delivery worldwide. State borders define less and less the boundaries of corporate thinking or practice.”

It is at this point I would like you to imagine; it’s easy if you try.

The Concept of Nation and Corporation
Before plunging into it, let me back off a bit and talk about both the nation and the corporation. The nation state sharing mutually acceptable borders is fairly a new concept in human history. There still are nations that have not been able to agree on the exact demarcation of “sovereign” rights. There are also cultures that are still struggling to establish their nation states.

Experiments with the modus operandi to running these nation states are far from over. The operating model of some version of governance by the people, for the people, of the people seems to have caught the imagination of a significant number of these nation states.

So the belief in the infallibility of the concept of the nation state is just to give ourselves a frame of reference. It allows us to build a lot of operating models. Quirks remain. Dual citizenship is a debated concept, but is not unheard of.  Now, what about the corporation?

If we look back at history, the corporation achieved the status of an individual or “legal entity” only when the owners were allowed “limited liability”. Then came the international or trans-national corporations, the East-India Company, for example. They relied on the muscle power and military might of the home nation to conduct their trade and commerce.

The MNC, or the multi national corporation, arrived as a solution to post war protectionism. They set up shop in multiple countries and followed the law of the land. This wasn’t a logical state of affairs and built in redundancies that were bottlenecks wealth generation.

Therefore came the strategic alliances and now the global enterprise. Elsewhere, on the canvass of nation states came alliances. Along with political alliances came the economic ones. The European Union, for example, is something that was inconceivable during the World War days.

Imagine the possibilities
Now. Imagine that humanity has come to terms with its biological and genetic limitations. We have learnt that we need to live as tribes and super tribes. Aggression is addressed by football, boxing, WWF and other such means. Every one believes and needs peace, prosperity, wisdom and health. Oh, the possibilities....

Submitted by Saumya Ganguly

Is that my crunchie?

This mornings radio had it's usual series of bad news from around the world, including the credit crunch and the political fate of more than one national leader, but one thing struck me was that we (humans) seem to inflict these upon ourselves or our own with what seems like growing regularity.

For instance, take the green issue.. well the wonders of bio-fuel are as you probably know pushing up the price of our shopping (especially bread, cereal and anything that eats grain) and for some people making it impossible to afford the basics.  Huge areas of the planet are now growing food quality wheat to put in cars.  Riots in Asia have broken out because the cost of rice is rising well above what people can afford.

Personally, having to pay a few pence more for a loaf of bread is nothing but annoying for me.  However, for a huge slice of humanity it is life or death.  Instead of finding really clean, green ways to transport our ever growing backsides around the planet we are looking at an alternative which may have real consequences for the most vulnerable.

We, as a species, need to get smarter and find truly sustainable ways of developing the economy.  The solutions may not always be simple but the guiding principles should be, starting with respecting each other and helping the most at risk.  If our most vulnerable see those in control having very little regard for them, is it surprising that anti-social behavior which blights many towns in the UK continues to rise. 

The local elections will take place in the UK early next month and in this democracy the majority will not be voting.

Karl Roche

WHEN WOMEN GATHER

We did it! Last Friday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, Greater IBM women came together from around the world for our first Women's Leadership Gathering. It was an online dialogue event hosted by my company's Global Dialogue Center CONFERENCE CENTER. The theme for our first conversation was Leadership Lessons: Missteps, Miracles, and Milestones. Shara Sokol, Greater IBMer (1999-2004) from New York and president of s2 Creative Communications, joined me as co-host. We were also very blessed to have Nancy Margulies, who worked with us in the initial pilot (see "related article" below) and is well-know as "the godmother of graphic recording". She did live illustration to bring our dialogue to life. It wasn't just the two-hour conversation experience we shared together, there was a magic in the preparation in the days leading up to the event that counted too.

As women from around the world, including Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Spain, and from every region of the United States, made their way to the gathering, some were stepping up to put their fingerprints on our dialogue in meaningful ways long before the actual day. It started with three Greater IBM trailblazing women, who volunteered to serve as "conversation starters." Each of them found a unique way to share their thought-provoking messages.

Linda Griffin from Virginia started the dialogue by telling us, "I spent 30 wonderful years in my career with IBM. I loved my job!" She followed with her story of how she turned her experience into a leadership coaching career in 2006, as founder of ClearWind LLC. Her warm and generous sharing provided  "pearls of wisdom" for all of us to take home.

Orsoyla Selley, Greater IBMer from Hungary, wasn't able to be with us for the event. However, she gave me the honor of carrying a message from her to the meeting. This demonstrated how even when we can come to an event, we can still make a contribution by sharing ourselves.

Jane Scandurra, Greater IBMer from New York, and contributing author to the Greater IBM BLOG, wrote to say she wouldn't be able to attend as she was heading out on vacation --- but this didn't stop her from "being there" with us. You see, Jane Scandurra is owner of Go Pictures and Films, LLC with a new documentary film just launched, called "SINGLE". A few days before our Women's Leadership Gathering, a video arrived in my email from Jane. As I watched her clever message --- I was so touched at her efforts to support our first gathering. In the great tradition of IBMers, she "leaped over a few buildings" to deliver her brand of excellence as she talked with us via video at the event.

WHAT DID OTHER WOMEN HAVE TO SAY ?
Here is a small sampling of the words Greater IBM women chose to share about the experience before leaving the event...

-- "So refreshing to meet in a place where everyone had your best interest in mind."
-- "Gave me lots of food for thought when I really needed it!"
-- "Appreciate the experience so much. It was wonderful!"
-- "Invaluable. Please continue. Taking home some great pieces of wisdom."
-- "A suprise due to the original and fun format!!
I will promote this forum!!!
-- "Appreciate IBM offering us an opportunity to network with
IBM and IBM alumni women; we share a common link."

In one of my cherished books, I re-read this passage the week before our first Greater IBM Women's Leadership Gathering: "...miracles always will happen if you believe them to be possible." This was truly a small miracle for which I am so grateful to have been apart.

We recorded the event to share with other Greater IBM women. It will be available shortly for replay with visuals, video and audio too! Watch for an announcement on Greater IBM on Xing; I will post on our forum. Most of all, there will be more! This was just a first in a series. Our next event Greater IBM Women's Leadership Gathering will be announced shortly. It will have wonderful theme that emerged from ideas during our dialogue at the first event. You won't want to miss it!

Have joined the Great IBM Connection?
...our a business and social network for current and former IBMers

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

RELATED ARTICLE:
"Women's Jam --- just a beginning of online synergy"
Greater IBM Connections eMagazine
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/greateribm/connections/connections_article24.shtml

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