MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Rebooting Work for a Digital Era

In 2015, IBM was in the midst of a tremendous business transformation. Its revenue model had been disrupted by new technology and was shifting toward artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud services. To increase its rate and pace of innovation, the company was rapidly changing its approach to getting work done. New, agile ways of working together with new workforce skills were required to accomplish its portfolio shift. But standing in the way was an outdated performance management (PM) system employees did not trust. Before IBM could fully engage its people in the business transformation, Diane Gherson, chief human resources officer and senior vice president of human resources, recognized that IBM’s approach to performance management would need to be entirely reimagined before the organization could fully engage its people in the business transformation.

About the Author

David Kiron is the executive editor of MIT Sloan Management Review’s Big Ideas Initiative, which brings ideas from the world of thinkers to the executives and managers who use them.

Barbara Spindel is a writer and editor specializing in culture, history, and politics. She holds a Ph.D. in American studies.

Learn more about MIT SMR.