IBM因美国大选出现裂痕：CEO示好新总统，女员工威胁要辞职

上周，两封分别来自IBM高管和基层员工的公开信先后吸引了不少人的关注。

第一封信是在美国大选结果出炉一周后发布的。它是IBM公司的CEO罗睿兰写给总统胜选人特朗普的，从信中看，罗睿兰显然对特朗普的“竞选人格”持乐观态度。

罗睿兰的信以这样一段话开始：“上周二晚上，您谈到要把国家团结起来，共同创造一个更美好的未来。我此次写信是想给您提出一些建议，我认为这些建议有助于实现您提出的抱负，并有助于在这样一个深刻变革的时代推动国家的进程。”

罗睿兰的建议主要包括：创造所谓的“新领”IT就业岗位，这些岗位主要由受过专业训练而非传统院校毕业的人才填充；在所有基建规划中加入网络安全元素；利用IT技术提高医疗质量、减少政府浪费；税收改革；以及为退伍老兵提供更好的医疗服务等等。

她在信中的语气是中立理性的，而且在一些关键议题上，她显然也强调了IBM作为一家科技创新企业和雇主的重要地位。

然而这封信却引起了IBM的一名员工的不满。一位名叫伊莉莎白•伍德的高级策略师在思考良久之后，也写了一封公开信，将矛头直指IBM的CEO，并且宣布她将从IBM辞职。

“特朗普的执政纲领损害了很多边缘人群的利益，并且威胁到了我作为一名女性、一个拉丁人和一个关心国事的公民的福祉。”罗睿兰在特朗普胜选后迅速写信示好，这让伍德觉得，公司是为了经济利益而选择了向美国所面临的威胁妥协。因此她在信中写道：“此次总统大选已经突显出（特朗普）对移民、退伍老兵、残疾人、黑人、拉丁人、犹太人、穆斯林和性少数群体的蔑视。罗睿兰女士，现在这些边缘群体在你所领导的公司中所占的比例越来越大，他们每天都在为IBM的成功而努力工作，却因为你的言辞而不敢发声。”

这两封信突显了很多企业的CEO和其他领导者目前所要做的一个艰难的平衡：如何既能与一个深度分裂的新政府进行有效合作，同时又能继续履行对员工的承诺，在企业自身的生态系统内保持包容的文化？他们的业务能否成功，某种程度上就取决于企业能否掌握好这一组矛盾的平衡。

伍德后来对《Slate》杂志表示：“我感觉十分厌恶，真的非常崩溃。”伍德已经在IBM工作两年了，她很喜欢这份工作，也觉得自己在IBM很有前途。不过她表示，现在她在公司已经待不下去了。“那封信对特朗普的一些施政理念表示十分欢迎，让我感觉非常痛苦。”

随着这则新闻的进一步发酵，企业的工作只会变得更难做。 （财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎

Two open letters, issued from opposite ends of the IBM organizational chart, are getting equal attention this week.

The first one came a week after the election. IBM CEO Ginni Rometty wrote an open letter to President-Elect Donald Trump, which clearly spoke to the more optimistic version of his presidential persona.

“Last Tuesday night you spoke about bringing the country together to build a better future, and the opportunity to harness the creative talent of people for the benefit of all,” she began. “I am writing to offer ideas that I believe will help achieve the aspiration you articulated and that can advance a national agenda in a time of profound change.”

Her ideas involved the creation of “new” collar jobs IT jobs, filled by vocational training instead of traditional college; the need to include cybersecurity in any infrastructure plans; using IT to drive better health outcomes and eliminate government waste; tax reform and better health care for veterans.

Her tone was neutral, reasonable and clearly established IBM’s stake in key debates going forward, as both a tech innovator and employer.

But the letter did not sit right with one employee, a senior content strategist named Elizabeth Wood. After much thought, Wood wrote her own open letter, addressed directly to IBM’s chief executive, and announced she was resigning.

“Your letter offered the backing of IBM’s global workforce in support of his agenda that preys on marginalized people and threatens my well-being as a woman, a Latina and a concerned citizen.” That Rometty’s letter came so quickly after the election told Wood that the company had chosen to legitimize threats to our country for financial gain. “The president-elect has demonstrated contempt for immigrants, veterans, people with disabilities, Black, Latinx, Jewish, Muslim and LGBTQ communities,” she wrote. “These groups comprise a growing portion of the company you lead, Ms. Rometty. They work every day for IBM’s success and have been silenced by your words.”

These two letters highlight the painful balancing act that chief executives and other leaders now face: How to work productively with a deeply divisive new government while reaffirming their commitment to the difficult work of maintaining an inclusive culture within their own ecosystems. Their businesses depend on mastering both.

“I was really offended — really deeply crushed,” Wood later told Slate. Wood had liked her job of two years and felt she had a future at IBM. But she just couldn’t stay. “This was such a welcoming letter that it was just really distressing.”

And as the news gets worse, the work will only get more difficult.