IBM
0220 GSD Business School
My longest lasting job whilst in GSD education, and my most fulfilling one, was to run its business school – and in particular the residential element of this.
This took place every other fortnight. I arrived with all my equipment, on Sunday afternoon, to set up ready for students arriving that evening. Dinner that evening was informal, though limited to the students; as was the whole course. For most of the time these were a mix of trainees, along with rather more salesmen and system engineers. We threw them into their work immediately, showing them the introduction to the first case on Sunday evening and then running it on Monday morning. To ease them in gently, the first case was a simple accounting case; based on marketing the clock at Wells Cathedral. It was an interesting case, the clock was the oldest in Britain and the authorities down there wanted to make more money from the tourists who came to see it. As with all the sessions, it was taught by a member of LBS staff – in this case a lecturer in accounting.
From there we moved on to a new case each half day; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. These progressed through the whole range of business activities. These were then rather different to the ones that now hold sway. In particular, production was still a major discipline covered. As I explain elsewhere, initially the students met in the lecture theatre; to be shown an audiovisual introduction to the case. Having had techniques of using highlighters, for example, explained to them, they then went off in their groups to study the material -- -- before they went on to discuss case as a group. At the end of their deliberations they then came back to a plenary session, to explain their recommendations for the case.
GSD
Business School in plenary session
The key to success was, however, that the teaching was very much a form of brainwashing. Our acid test was that, when the students first read about their earlier cases, they would sit in their group and make comments like "This is an interesting case, obviously the theory they need to adopt is...". By the first Wednesday, however, they came to the groups saying "My God we’re in trouble. What the hell are we going to do?" In other words, the brainwashing was that they had to get intimately involved with the business, which was the object of the exercise. Thus, although they learned specific business school theory and techniques, the one thing that we wanted to stay with them - after the end of the course - was the gut-feel of what it's like to run such businesses.
Although we ran dozens of these courses we never ran one that didn't succeed.
The brainwashing mainly came from the endless torrent of work that was poured onto the students. They literally didn't have time to think. But it was also by careful manipulation of the environment. I spent every evening in the bar, with the various groups, listening to what they were saying and what they were doing. Incidentally this had a very personal cost. At the end of each two-week School I literally had to dry out, since I had something like alcohol poisoning. This was not good for me, when I had diabetes, but it was a price I was then (foolishly) willing to pay. The following morning, therefore, I was able to report back to the managing group -- which was Sue Birley (from the LBS small business group) as well as Robin Wensley (the lecture in marketing who was in charge of the course for LBS). At this we briefed the lecturers for that day on how they had to steer their course to compensate for the weaknesses I had observed and build on the strengths. It was a very tightly managed school.
The nice thing about it was that the news of its success soon got round the business school itself. Where we initially had mainly senior lecturers teaching cases, with just a few professors, I soon had professors knocking at my door asking if they could teach one of our cases. Thus, I had my choice not just of the best lecturers but also the best professors. It was the most high-powered course I have ever run.
The course usually ended with a celebratory dinner, on the last Thursday night, followed by various hijinks; of which more later. Everyone assumed therefore that the final session on Friday morning was insignificant. As a result the students trotted into the main lecture theatre, complete with their hangovers, to find the three of us - myself, Robin and Sue - sitting out at the front with our feet on the desk. We had not listed a case study for the Friday, but we then introduced one which was going to be the most important of all. It was IBM GSD!. We then launched into a vicious attack on IBM GSD, and all its silly ideas. In particular we destroyed the three call close which was the current flavour of the month. The problem for the students was that our arguments were sound, and well rehearsed, building all the case studies they had already done. It was very difficult for them actually make any case for GSD at all. Accordingly the students slunk out at the end of the business school with the whole of the following weekend to think over what we'd said about their role in IBM. This of course was our intention, since we knew that, by the following Monday, they would bounce back – but with a much better perspective on their job.
This was proved by the fact that the GSD sales force over the next couple of years more than trebled its sales; not by the three call close, but by understanding the business in the way that we had taught them.
Back to the hijinks, we wanted a mix of trainees and qualified salesman and SEs on the course. Accordingly we put out a lot of publicity and, more important, forced the branches to dragoon a sufficient number of qualified staff onto the course. But there was no great feeling in the field force that they wanted to attend the course. Eventually they might have known that it was good for the souls, but it still took time away from selling and they weren't likely to attend it.
It was almost by a mistake, therefore, that we found by far the best way of attracting them onto the school. I mentioned earlier the party on the last Thursday night, and the first group of students really went to town on that. It so happened that IBM also had a course for secretarial managers running at a local hotel. Most of that course were, accordingly, recruited to come to party; and were the qualified by the salesman on the basis that "... only come if you intend to perform".
Accordingly it was the biggest orgy I have ever attended. There were far more girls than men, and some men went through three girls in the evening. There was a constant stream of them going backwards and forwards from the student union, where we held it, to the bedrooms. Fortunately, I had recruited two of the girls in London Business School to act as chaperones. If any of the girls were too far gone, too drunk in other words, the girls took them aside and put them safely to bed in spare bedrooms. This was a process we repeated on all the later parties, it saved the reputation of IBM many times
Unfortunately I personally had to ride shotgun on the whole affair. Even so I managed to reserve myself a nice young girl for myself and chatted her up all evening while I watched all the other comings and goings on. About three o'clock in the morning I was just about to close in on my investment when someone whispered in my ear "David, how is Pat?". I turned, to discover one of my neighbours, who apparently happened to be there on another course. That was the end of my venture for that evening -- actually my chances of such an adventure for the whole programme of courses. Perhaps most annoying was that, as far as I could see, he took over the girl and built on my investment. The only saving grace was that the following night I was at a party where I spent most of the evening whispering with his wife while he looked on - panic stricken - from the other side the room.
That was the best orgy that happened. Later on we did different things. One group went to Raymond's Revue Bar - then the leading strip joint in London - and I remember being particularly proud that I was the only one to recognise one girl who appeared in both parts of the evening. I recognised her by her beautiful eyes! On another evening we hired a boat and went down the Thames; as always with a selected group of girls!
The only other one where I got personally involved was one where we went Ronnie Scott's with a number of invited girls. I found myself with a very attractive, and very sophisticated, blonde. We spent the evening talking and dancing together and I was hopeful once more of cashing in on my investment. Unfortunately, towards the end of the evening she told me that she was secretary to a Saudi Arabian consortium. It was at a time when Ian Donaldson and I were trying to get a property venture off the ground, and we desperately needed Saudi money. Accordingly, almost my horror, I found myself switching instead to the sales pitch for our particular venture. She really was a superb girl, but that was the end of my romance for the evening; and we never did get the money!
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