The Facts Are In -- IBM Succeeded Where Investors Thought It Would Fail

If you've been around long enough to do so, take a few seconds now to think back over the decades of your life. There were likely a lot of wonderful high points to recall, but also some terrible lows. That's just how life works. In many cases, you have to get through the lows to experience the highs. Often, doing so involves some kind of personal change.

The same is true of companies, which are just organizations made up of people. International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) is one such organization with decades to look back on and it recently proved (not for the first time) that it has what it takes to get through difficult periods so it can enjoy the (financial) benefits of successful change. Here's why this matters for IBM, and for all of the other companies you own.

Arie de Geus worked as an executive for integrated energy giant from 1951 to 1980, effectively helping to create the company's long-term industry forecasts. At one point while working for Shell, however, he was asked to consider what attributes a company needed to ensure long-term survival. That doesn't mean the 20 or 30 years that a typical company exists. That's a drop in the bucket. Arie de Geus looked at companies that had existed in some form for 100 years or more.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com