In 1990, IBM had its most profitable year ever. By 1993, the company was on a watch list for extinction -- victimized by its own lumbering size, an insular corporate culture, and the PC era IBM had itself helped invent. Enter Lou Gerstner. The presumption was that Gerstner had joined IBM to preside over its continued dissolution into a confederation of autonomous business units -- effectively eliminating the corporation that had invented many of the industry's most important technologies. Instead, Gerstner took hold of the company, making the bold decision to keep it together, defiantly announcing, "The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision." Told in Lou Gerstner's own words, this is a story of an extraordinary turnaround, a case study in managing a crisis, and a thoughtful reflection on the computer industry and the principles of leadership. Summing up his historic business achievement, Gerstner recounts high-level meetings, explains the no-turning-back decisions that had to be made, and offers his hard-won conclusions about the essence of what makes a great company run. Read by Edward Herrmann

郭士納

郭士納（Lou Gerstner，Jr．），IBM現任董事長、前任CEO。在加盟IBM之前，他是RJR納貝斯剋公司董事長兼CEO。此前還在美國運通公司任總裁11年，兼任其最大的分公司董事長兼CEO此前，他還曾任麥肯锡管理谘詢公司總監。他在達特茅斯學院獲工程學學士學位，在哈佛商學院獲工商管理碩士學位。