Leadership Kudos and Gaffes: IBM Palmisano’s Leading by Values and Winklevoss’ Persistence

Leadership Kudos this week go to IBM and CEO Sam Palmisano on the occasion of the company’s 100th anniversary. Since taking over from Lou Gerstner nine years ago, Palmisano has built IBM into the world’s leading information technology company, eclipsing HP, Microsoft, and Intel. He has done so by focusing on “leading by values,” collaboration, and intense focus on meeting global customer needs with tailored systems. Now with 440,000 employees in 170 countries and $100 billion in revenues, IBM’s market capitalization has grown steadily to $200 billion.

Leadership Gaffes are awarded to Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss who continue to try to extract more money from Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. The Winklevoss twins had an idea for an on-line dating site, not a social network, but they never designed it, got a patent on it, or commercialized it – all of which are clear criteria for intellectual property. To get rid of the case, Zuckerberg and Facebook settled for $65 million in cash and Facebook stock, which is now worth a multiple of that figure as Facebook’s value has grown. Recently, a judge threw their case out of court, but these talented twins – Harvard graduates and Olympic rowers – won’t give up. As Zuckerberg said, “They should get a life.”