Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC

"Inside IBM: Lessons of a Corporate Culture in Action" by James W. Cortada is a compelling exploration into the heart of one of the most iconic companies in the world. Cortada, with his extensive experience as a business historian and former IBM employee, offers a rare glimpse into the internal workings of IBM's corporate culture that has been pivotal to its success.

The book delves into the evolution of IBM's culture over nearly a century, providing a narrative that is both informative and engaging. Cortada's insider perspective brings authenticity to the account, as he weaves together the experiences of employees, executives, and customers. The narrative is enriched with case studies that highlight the practices which have built and reinforced IBM's organizational culture, such as the training of managers, employee benefits, company rituals, and even the role of humor.

What stands out in Cortada's work is the emphasis on the material culture within IBM, including the significance of seemingly mundane objects like coffee mugs and lapel pins. These items are not merely corporate swag but symbols of a shared identity and ethos among IBMers. The author argues that IBM's culture has aligned with its business imperatives, allowing it to operate with a variety of stakeholders in mind, rather than solely focusing on stockholders.

Cortada distills key lessons from IBM's experience that can be applied to today's business challenges, particularly in managing stakeholder relations and nurturing a corporate culture that aligns with business goals.

In conclusion, "Inside IBM" is a must-read for business historians, executives, managers, and anyone interested in the dynamics of corporate culture. Cortada's scholarship is meticulous, and his storytelling is captivating, making this book a valuable addition to the literature on business and management. It's a testament to the enduring legacy of IBM and a blueprint for building a resilient and adaptive corporate culture.

“Inside IBM - Lessons of a Corporate Culture in Action” by Dr. James W. Cortada analyzes the culture of the IBM Corporation in scholarly detail. After training as a historian and having worked at IBM for 38 years Dr Cortada is certainly qualified to write this book. This 480 page book is comprised of three parts and the following 12 chapters:

1. From Theories of Corporate Cultures to the Realities of Life inside a Global Enterprise
2. Role of Ethics in Corporate Culture: Enduring Beliefs at IBM
3. “The IBM Way”: Creating and Sustaining a Corporate Image and Reputation
4. Developing Man agers in a Multinational Corporation
5. How IBM Prevented Unionization of Its American Workforce
6. Corporate Benefits in Boom Periods: IBM’s American Experience
7. Managing a Nearly Invisible Corporate Community: “IBM Families”
8. From Lapel Pins to Coffee Cups: Links Between Corporate and Material Culture
9. The Role of American Postcards in Supporting IBM’s Image, Marketing, and Information Ecosystem
10. Humor and Corporate Culture: IBM, Cartoons, and the Good Laugh
11. Gray Literature in IBM’s Information Ecosystem
12. The Essential Strategy for Corporate Success

To provide a very high level summary, this book provides a history of the IBM Corporation focusing on the beliefs and practices of the company and employees. I choose to read and review this book largely because I also have decades of experience at IBM. Being a large and diverse company, our experiences were clearly different, though I totally agree with Dr. Cortada’s descriptions and conclusions. I enjoyed reading about the corporation before I joined. I have always appreciated that IBM still tends to look out for its employees, but I was rather amazed at how far the company went to look out for employees and family in the past. Like many other employees I take pride in IBM’s core beliefs of “respect for the individual, commitment to serving customers, and doing outstanding work” and am sad when the actions of either the company or individuals stray from these beliefs. I concur with the author that these beliefs are largely responsible for much of the success of the IBM Corporation, and that there are periods in IBM’s history where not following these beliefs has had a negative impact on the business outcome itself.

I found the analysis and description of IBM culture through material items such as coffee cups, pens, postcards, logo imprinted items, etc. to be insightful and interesting. The conclusions and insights at the end of most of the chapters aides with comprehending and absorbing the content. I look forward to discussing this book with my current colleagues.

This is not a book one would read casually, but I recommend it to curious IBMers and those who are seriously interested in learning about corporate culture.

I thank Dr. James Cortada and the Columbia University Press for kindly sharing a temporary electronic review copy of this work.

"Inside IBM" by James W. Cortada is a captivating journey through the heart of one of tech's most iconic giants. Cortada, with his insider perspective, paints a vivid picture of IBM's evolution, blending historical anecdotes with a keen understanding of the company's impact on the tech landscape.

The book delves into IBM's corporate culture, innovation strategies, and the personalities that shaped its trajectory. Cortada skillfully weaves together the technological milestones and business decisions that propelled IBM to its status as an industry titan.

What sets this book apart is its accessibility. Cortada manages to make the intricacies of IBM's complex history engaging for both tech enthusiasts and general readers. His storytelling prowess ensures that even those unfamiliar with the tech industry will find themselves engrossed in the narrative.

"Inside IBM" is not just a history lesson; it's a celebration of innovation, resilience, and the human stories behind the machines. Cortada's prose is both insightful and approachable, making this a must-read for anyone curious about the inner workings of one of the tech world's pioneers.

Inside IBM, a book by Cortada, will be published on October 31, 2023. The book provides a comprehensive overview of IBM's history and struggles, detailing the company's rise and fall, and its evolution. The book also explores the company's dress code and the origins of intelligence tests during the hiring process. The book is expected to be a bestseller among the IBM community.

Inside IBM will be published October 31, 2023. Columbia University Press provided an early galley for review.

I spent the first eighteen years of my professional life working for IBM (six months in 1986-1987, then 1988-2004). I remember how excited I was to land my first job there. This was a company known for its culture, its employment-for-life mindset, its excellence. This is why I was instantly attracted to this upcoming book.

But, as recapped in the rather lengthy preface and introduction chapters here, Cortada outlines many of the struggles the company faced (as he further detailed in his 2019 book IBM: The Rise and Fall and Reinvention of a Global Icon. These were things I observed first-hand during my tenure with the company as well. By the time I hired in, the famed corporate culture for Big Blue was already starting to struggle. The first chapter very much continues to lay out the thesis of the author's topic with an overview of what is to follow. For me, this all felt like a really long build up (fifty-four pages or about sixteen percent of the book) before we got into the meat of the subject.

I did appreciate the discussion around the "dress code". While I had my "uniform" in my wardrobe, I definitely only broke it out on specific occasions. By the nineties, the look was a bit more relaxed in my division, and it was not too long before the "business casual" policies kicked in (at first just on Fridays and then later to every day we were not interfacing with customers in-person). I also found it interesting to discover the source of the intelligence tests that IBM administered to everyone upon their first interview for full-time employment (I remember taking that test when I interviewed in the Fall of 1987).

Overall, there is a lot here. Those interested in the evolution of business will definitely want to give this one a look. I think it will also appeal to current and former IBMers; just hitting a reasonable fraction of that group would make it a big seller.