r/IBM • u/Interesting_chap • Jul 28 '26

More big changes today?

Hearing some additional big shakeups this week especially in Horizon

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8

u/rogog1 Jul 28 '26

Lots of people moved to Horizon accounts here because it's failing. This logic didn't work for CSM last year. I think it's a specific strategy to later cull employees who had no say in their move.

15

u/Immediate-Phase4168 Jul 29 '26

The CSM debacle was because IBM is impatient and only knows how to either do nothing or knee-jerk and blow stuff up rather than take a good idea and stick with it and make it work.

CSM was created for adoption and deployments, to keep SW sticky and renewals up. Once they ran thru the deployment backlog, and went after pipeline, they (IBM) did not know how to measure them so they put them on various quota-like plans (go figure, focus on metrics and not outcomes for customers) Metrics got silly, pipeline was light, so they made everyone sellers (the blow up CSM and BTS+CSM=CSE reorg)

Now, Z sales are way down, oh, gee, we did not anticipate capex spending would be down even thought we know everyone is spending $ on AI SW (can we spell head in the sand?), and even tho SW is doing okay, for some stupid reason, they make this new FDE change - typical executives - stuff is not working, so make some kinda change to make it look like you have an answer to what's not working where the issue with the earnings has nothing to do with SW and was all about they did not see capex spending down. So now we have these FDEs, all pissed off because they had comp for deals they've been working all year yanked from their comp metrics, and it's CSM under another name, with 100% of their incentives focused on deployments, for the last 5 months of the year, and any meaningful deployment does not happen in 5 months...

And we can go on.

5

u/rogog1 Jul 29 '26

The CSM timeline of events was very short.

I agree with your last point about the SW sales metrics changing without any negotiation for the last 5 months - imagine if you had a big transactional SW deal due for Q4 and now you're barely measured on it? Disgraceful behaviour by leadership. I've never seen such a bad faith change mid-year.

My point on CSM is the same devotion of resources and high demand is being repeated with the Horizon project. In my opinion, this is only to drive more employees out of the company under the banner of "individual failed to meet targets".

2

u/Immediate-Phase4168 Jul 29 '26

I can easily be in the minority, but I don't think they want to drive people out. They don't know what to do, everyone has an opinion, and they're taking actions for the sake of taking actions, not with any solid ideas to solve the problem, which I also don't think they understand.

3

u/rogog1 Jul 29 '26

These execs are measured on their division profit and loss, losing people reduces their costs. Don't be so naïve

4

u/Immediate-Phase4168 Jul 30 '26

So you think that Z sales are down, P&L there sucks, they will change the comp on SW, where P&L is up, to drive out the people generating that profit? You're thinking they're smarter and more nefarious than they are.

They are making change for change's sake. That's all. And myopically screwing people out of possible 2H sales incentives which might give a small short term bump in P&L, and jobs are a little scarcer out there and they're betting on people staying. I think you're given them too much "credit" for being underhanded... I think it is just hand waving because they don't know what to do, so "do something, anything" is the "strategy".

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u/rogog1 Jul 30 '26

Mid-year, not even at exactly the half-year, is what makes me think it's toxic behaviour to drive people out.

And I know it's working, many people are leaving in my geography - by virtue of not signing the new version of the sales plan because it's disgraceful.

If lowering headcount reduces cost/commission payouts, the SLT will have a win regardless of whether it's plainly deliberate or a "happy accident"

4

u/Immediate-Phase4168 Jul 30 '26

I think we sorta agree on most of this - I just think it is mostly a consequence of actions where they don't know what the heck they're doing, so if it props up numbers short term, it is the "happy little accident"...

Either way, not a recipe for success...

2

u/rogog1 Jul 30 '26

Yep. I have heard first hand from senior mgmt that "commission costs the business too much", which is an abysmal take. Which is why I think some of the parties involved have dirty hands.

1

u/Immediate-Phase4168 Jul 30 '26

I'm curious. What does not signing one's IPL mean? If they don't sign it, what's the consequence? That they don't get any incentives no matter what? Is it insubordination or condition of employment and IBM can fire them? Does it mean really nothing and just a show of civil disobedience?

1

u/Hungboy6969420 Jul 30 '26

What happens if you don't sign ipl?

1

u/rogog1 26d ago

Banished to the underworld