ThinkPad: A Different Shade of Blue

Being an extremely satisfied owner of an IBM ThinkPad A-series laptop, I came across this book by accident and immediately found myself immersed in the inner workings and coporate culture of the storied IBM corporation. The one thing this book succeeds at detailing are what is actually involved (politically and financially) when large corporations find themselves in the position of creating and branding a new product. Creating something like the Thinkpad notebook computer was a tremendous undertaking and the process in which this was gone about is vastly different than how a small business or startup goes about its business. Some may be turned off by the technical nature of the book, but I believe that owners of Thinkpad notebooks are a tech and business-savvy group and will thoroughly enjoy this fascinating book. It's the closest you can get to an IBM development team without having to work for Big Blue!By the way, opt for the hardcover version of the book. This is definitely a title you'll add to your permanent book collection shelf!

This is a great story about an $80+ billion company that could not compete with competitors and consciously decided to do something about it. It's about how having a clear vision, putting great people in place, fostering innovation, developing a strong brand, and listening to the customer DO come together to create success! It's how big companies DO stifle creativity and how you have to stand up to overcome it. It's about cool technology. Most importantly it's about people. You'll read about a jelly donut maker and a typewriter salesman who went on the manage the biggest brand within IBM. It's a blueprint for success!

Rarely, if ever, do we see such a good example of what it takes to break the mold and create a new brand in a large company. This book provides several "object lessons" on how a high-level executive's vision and some talented managers with adequate authority and resources can make something happen that changes everything. While it was slow going in the beginning (both the book and the project), once the key players are in position, the vision takes shape and the team rises to the challenge, I found this to be an absorbing look behind the scenes. Both the technology and the politics were difficult, and there were numerous "moments of truth" which solidified elements critical to the team's ultimate success: clear focus, good people and commitment to deliver. Thinkpad shows how a small team with a mandate can buck the bureaucracy and shine. It clearly wasn't easy getting the Thinkpad off the ground, but anyone interested in finding a niche for their project should find some insights to adopt as their own. I would assign the chapter on "Influencing the Influencers" to any new manager on an innovative team: it's an excellent case study of building support both inside and outside your group which has paid dividends for years. Continuing to get it right after the product's initial success seems to be the most difficult challenge of all. Judging from the continuing good reviews of the most recent models, it looks like the Thinkpad team has learned just that.

This is an excellent book on what is required to develop a business in a large corporate enterprise. This book illustrates some of the political and business issues a team developing a new business may face that a small company may not have to deal with. I found the writting redundant at times but each chapter stood on its own and didn't depend on you having to read other sections which could make this an excellent text book on branding.

There are only a few times in one's life that you get to be in on the inside of one of the greatest success stories of modern technology. I was fortunate to be in the inside with IBM as a consultant and analyst getting to see how they created such a remarkable product line. The story needed to be heard and is interesting as it's more of the tale and less technical than most people might suspect. Being 15 years now in mobile computing allowed me to add insights to each chapter that our agent Jim Levine said was one of the real kudos for this book as it's something that other authors should do more often. Try out ThinkPad. You'll find that Debi and I have taken great pains over two years to give a story that most readers tell us is inspiring. Send us a note if or when you have the time. We'd love to hear from [email protected]