Lou Gerstner’s Legacy: Calm Leadership Under Fire
Lou Gerstner’s Passing Reminds Us What Real Leadership Looks Like.
He was not just the former CEO of IBM, he showed what steady leadership looks like when the stakes are existential.
When he stepped into IBM in the early 1990s, the company was fighting for survival.
It was a house divided. People were scared. Internal dissension was pulling it apart.
The business was under fire.
The unthinkable was on the table: employees, shareholders, and customers weren’t sure the institution would survive.
What he brought wasn’t noise or ego. It was steadiness.
He listened.
He made hard, sometimes unpopular calls.
He put customers ahead of internal politics.
He rebuilt trust inside first, then outside.
If you want to understand what that actually looks like day to day, his book 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦? 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘐𝘉𝘔’𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 is still one of the clearest leadership case studies out there.
For investors, executives, and boards, his legacy is a simple reminder:
in the hardest moments, leadership is less about bold gestures and more about judgment, humility, and resolve.
My thoughts are with his family and everyone who was shaped by his leadership.
🔗Source: Louis Gerstner, Former IBM CEO Who Revitalized 'Big Blue,' Dies at 83
