There is a substantial body of opinion that press coverage of IBM is much too abrasive, carping, hypercritical, positively unfair and mean-minded, but for all those who feel that way and long for something with a touch of the Barbara Cartland or Elinor Glyn about it, help is at hand in the shape of the upcoming issue of Fortune magazine, due out tomorrow, which as its cover story runs an unabashed hagiography of the company and the good folks who run it: of the chairman it reports that a golfing competitor on the links describes Akers – who according to Fortune could stamp the most enduring mark on the company since Thomas Watson Jr propelled it to world dominance – as a fiery competitor who would be better at the game if he had more time, and goes on, Akers can still recite the lineup of the 1949 Boston Red Sox team that lost the pennant to the hated Yankees, adding He often spends the early morning aboard an exercise bike at home, gone through that and showered and shaved, I’m pretty energetic and I’ve got my head clear’; go for it, IBM fans, there are six more gripping pages of the cheery stuff.
