New #MIPtalk Episode – The T-Shaped Professional http://www.miptalk.com http://www.miptalk.com/?p=375

Another great ep…good to listen to on the treadmill.

I have worked for IBM for 10 years so I have some internal perspective on this.

First off, the interview fails to have acknowledge that IBM has laid off nearly 100,000 people in the last 10 years and a US based company that employs 400K people worldwide now has less than 100K people in the US and somewhat more than 100K people in India. And this is including a large scale IBM buying drive- including PWC.

Were some of the laid off low performers? In the past probably so, however in the last few years that has ceased to be the case and now I see good, talented people so out the door to be replaced by “freshers” in India. IBM’s only rationale these days is if you are working on a project that is eliminated, then 80% of your team gets eliminated. Fight like crazy to avoid a risky assignment.

The further issue is that India technology delivery is one or two notches away from a debacle. The skill level is generally low, and in my personal experience the certifications are paper. Also there is simply too much churn- anyone with account experience or who develops technical skill is marketable and is out the door. Neewbs fill up the bottom ranks. Here is the dirty secret- the only reason that GR is able to deliver at all is because they are bailed out by North America colleagues. How do I know? Because I spend about 10 hours a week doing it. The current measurement system IBM uses doesnt capture this hidden costs, so the executives are blind to the fact that US FTE’s are subsidizing the GR mission. Exec’s are taken in by the Big Ideaism of BRIC and the need to be seen to be doing something “globally” regardless of its long term effectiveness.

Likewise Mr. Mantas’s call-to-arms on Hispanic graduation rates is off base. The number of number of computer science majors has plunged in recent years because kids realize that organizations like IGS are shoveling those jobs overseas. It doesnt make sense to get $50-100K in student loans for a job that companies are actively trying to get rid of in the US. We dont have enough jobs for highly qualified tech employees now; the idea that we need to retro-fit a bunch of GED Hispanic students or we wont be able to complete in technology is fanciful.

Lastly, something needs to be said about the assertion Mantas makes about hybrid vigor in IBM because of ethnic multiculturalism.

If it exists at all, its extent is negligibly. IBM makes heavy use of patterns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_pattern_%28computer_science%29) and reference architectures in their product and service development. With-in these models there is simply no ability for the ethnicity of the practitioner to come into play. I suspect that Mantas didnt give you any examples or quantification of his claim because it doesnt exist at all. This is just another instance where IBM wants to be seen to be doing something, whether or not it is effective.

Campion,

We appreciate your very thoughtful criticism of the Jesus Mantas interview. We’d like to discuss our thoughts further and possibly have you as a guest on MIPtalk. If you’re interested please e-mail us your contact information at info@miptalk.com.

Thanks again.

Noam and Brad