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The Akers Memo refers to an influential internal communication originally sent via email from an IBM branch manager in May 1991, summarizing blunt criticisms and strong directives from IBM CEO John Akers. The memo was quickly spread throughout IBM, triggering extensive internal debate that resulted in significant disruption across IBM.
The memo and the ensuing controversy it triggered highlighted critical strategic, operational and managerial shortcomings within IBM, and are widely considered to be the primary catalysts for the chain of events that led to the resignation of Akers as Chairman and CEO in early 1993.
Background
[edit]In late April 1991, Brent Henderson, an IBM branch manager, attended an Advanced Management Seminar where CEO John Akers candidly expressed his concerns regarding IBM's declining business performance. Henderson summarized Akers' remarks in an internal email on May 15, 1991.
Content of the Memo
[edit]The memo conveyed Akers' deep dissatisfaction and anger with the filtering of his communications, declining market share, overall complacency within the organization, and IBM's performance, specifically citing stagnant sales growth despite an increased sales force.
Key excerpts from the memo included:
He [Akers] started the discussion by saying that he believes the sentiments he shares with his corporate mgmt team..... get "filtered" from the minute they leave the mtg..... resulting in the masses never receiving the true msg. In these times of trouble, Aker's said there is no room or time for that, and that he wld set the record straight with us.
- in these times, the tone and mood needs to be -tough -no nonsense -street fighting. "The fact that we're losing share makes me God Damn mad. I used to think my job as a rep was at risk if I lost a sale. Tell them theirs is at risk if they lose."
Everyone is too damn comfortable at a time when the business is in crisis… too many people standing around the water cooler waiting to be told what to do.[1]
I'm sick and tired of visiting plants to hear nothing but great things about quality and cycle time—and then to visit customers who tell me of problems.
In the memo, Henderson cites his reasons for wanting to spread his summary:
In the spirit of his concern on filtered communications, I left with a real sense of obligation to spread his word.
Impact and Reaction
[edit]The e-mail became known as "the Akers memo" as it rapidly spread throughout IBM on its internal network (VNET) via its internal email system (PROFS) and on its internal bulletin boards (the IBMPC Conferencing Disk) in one of the earliest examples of the disruptive power of networked communications within a company.[2] One lower-level marketing employee responded to the email in a post made on an internal IBM forum.[3] His posted response generated unprecedented discussion activity that led the IBM department responsible for the board to establish a new server to consolidate the ensuring discussion into a single new forum named AMSROUND (after the Advanced Management Seminar where Akers had made his remarks) to handle the debate and discussion that ensued,[4] with over 55,000 lines of text posted in less than three months.[2] [5] [6]
Many IBM employees openly criticized senior management, including Akers himself, citing poor strategic decisions relating to failure to recognize and conform with the industry direction away from centralized mainframe computing and towards distributed networks of personal computers (client-server computing) to facilitate more open communications.[7] [2]
George Conrades, the heir-apparent to Akers and target of criticism in the memo, responded by publishing his e-mail address within IBM and invited employees to communicate with him directly, promising to read all email. Within months, Akers had demoted Conrades, essentially forcing him out of IBM, ostensibly because Conrades had "brought the people too close to Armonk [where IBM Headquarters and Akers office were located] ."[2]: 173
Both Akers’ message and the ensuing internal discussions underscored the urgent need for change and adaptation, but the differences between Akers' strategic and tactical approach and the ones popularly advocated on the forums were never reconciled, and Akers was forced to resign on January 26, 1993.
Broader Significance
[edit]The Akers Memo became emblematic of corporate America's broader struggles during the early 1990s recession, illustrating the challenges faced by large, traditionally structured companies trying to adapt to rapidly changing technology markets. It remains a significant historical reference point for organizational change and communications management, illustrating the need for executives to engage employees in open communications while paying attention to broader trends if large-scale corporate transformations are to be successful.
Legacy
[edit]The memo’s widespread internal impact highlighted the growing power of electronic communications within corporate environments, presaging the importance and potential disruption of digital internal messaging. It continues to be studied as an example of impactful internal corporate communication.
References
[edit]- ^ "Seeing Red At Big Blue". Newsweek. 9 June 1991. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d Whittle, David B. (1997). Cyberspace: The Human Dimension. New York: W.H. Freeman. p. 171. ISBN 9780716783145.
- ^ Richards, Evelyn (24 November 1991). "Turning IBM Around: Computer Behemoth's Fortunes Are Falling, and Efforts to Reverse Them Are Uncertain". The Washington Post. pp. H1, H4 – H6.
- ^ Carroll, Paul B. (7 August 1991). "Computers Indicate Mood at Big Blue Is Practically Indigo: On a Short-Lived Network, Employees Registered Extensive Catalog of Woe". The Wall Street Journal. New York, NY. pp. A1, A4.
- ^ "IBM: A First Step Toward Change". Business Week. 17 June 1991. p. 120.
- ^ "Akers' Memo:BACKLASH". InformationWeek: The Newsmagazine for Information Management. CMP. 29 July 1991. pp. 1, 42–46.
- ^ Markoff, John (29 May 1991). "IBM Chief Gives Staff Tough Talk". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2025.