Managing for Long Term: IBM's Future Growth Mantra

IBM today is marking the 100-year anniversary of its founding. As the company engages in centennial celebrations across the world, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano, set the tone for future growth – Managing for the long term.

Palmisano identified the key lesson IBM has learned over 100 years: In order to succeed for the long term, you must manage for the long term. “For IBMers, long-term thinking means continually moving to the future,” he said. “IBM has survived and thrived for 100 years by remaining true to our core values, while being ready to change everything else. This has allowed us to transform technology, business and society through our first century, and we believe it will enable us to achieve even more in our second,” Palmisano added.

The centennial celebrations are marked by social service initiatives globally as well as locally as employees donate 2.5 Million hours in volunteer service activities. IBM India, as part of the centennial celebrations, will align itself to a unique global initiative wherein IBM employees worldwide will significantly increase their service in their local communities.
Over 50 percent of the employees will pledge a minimum of 8 hours of voluntary service each and work with over 100 NGOs engaged in different community programs. Additionally, IBM will provide grants worth US $ 12 million to support the Celebration of Service globally, with a part of this grant being given in India as well.

Shankar Annaswamy, Managing Director, IBM India Private Limited, said, “It has been an exciting journey for IBM in India. Starting with just a small office, we have grown to become a microcosm of the IBM Corporation with presence and leadership across all segments. As we move ahead towards the next century, we will take forward this legacy of innovation and growth and continue to contribute to the economy and society in India.

During its first century, IBM has played a leading role in transforming business, science and society. The company’s history can be seen as a succession of key milestones – from investing in a research lab in the depths of the Great Depression, to developing the first hard disk drive that created the data storage industry, to working with the U.S. government to develop the Social Security System.
It continued with such “big bets” as a radical new computing model, the System/360 mainframe, the invention of the UPC code, the invention of the IBM Personal Computer that launched the PC revolution, and the recent development of Watson, the computer that triumphed on the TV game show ‘Jeopardy’.