Related reading is Cringely’s long history of writing about IBM

Blog: https://www.cringely.com/tag/ibm/

The Decline and Fall of IBM https://www.amazon.com/Decline-Fall-IBM-American-Icon/dp/099...

Thanks, I suspected that this was the case after I read the Cringely book on IBM (https://www.amazon.com/Decline-Fall-IBM-American-Icon-ebook/...). It gives one the distinct impression that connections matter a lot, and that getting the contract matters more than actually completing it successfully.