When Thomas Watson Jr. stepped into his father’s shoes as president of IBM in 1952, he knew they would be hard ones to fill. Until not long before, Watson Jr.’s life had consisted in large part of drinking and partying. IBM had always been a part of his life, but only in the context of his father’s job. Was he ready to take the reins of this multinational company? Could he break out from his father’s shadow and create his own legacy?
His father might have started the company, but by all accounts, Watson Jr. was the one who gave IBM its teeth. At the time of his passing, Paris’ Le Monde wrote of Watson Jr., “He made the company into a formidable technological and especially commercial engine, and gave IBM its international dimension.” He took six years and three schools to get through high school, but this youth who was “convinced that I had something missing inside” was able to turn his life around, give up his partying ways, and help create what is now the largest information technology company in the world. How did he do it?
“One of the proudest claims is the fact that people say IBM is a good place to work. I like to think that as we continue to grow we are not only going to live up to that claim, but make IBM an even better place to work.
We believe in the importance of the individual at IBM and we’ll never forget it. We think it’s more important than the most fantastic electronic product that we could ever invent. No subject occupies more executive time at IBM than the well-being of our employees and their families. This is a company of human beings not machines, personalities not products, people not real estate.
“Think it through” is a reminder that creative, individual thinking is an indispensable tool in finding solutions to the manifold problems of today’s modern business and social activities. Thinking things through is hard work and it sometimes seems safer to follow the crowd. That blind adherence to such group thinking is, in the long run, far more dangerous than independently thinking things through. Machines might give us more time to think but will never do our thinking for us.
Service has always been the hallmark of our company, and looking at the years ahead, I think that the margin between our success and failure will be measured more and more in terms of the service we provide. I am speaking not only of the service we agree to provide by contract but also of that quality of urgency expressed by people who desire to do a little more than is expected. To respond cheerfully and willingly to the needs of customers, fellow employees and everyone we meet in our business contacts.
One of the things my father always tried to impress me wit was that the success we want as individuals and as a business is the kind that is built and sustained by the good will of other people. The only way we can be sure of keeping this good will is always to consider the total impact of our personal and collective behaviour. The little things we do – or fail to do – often testify louder than the loudest statements of our intentions. It is easy to be big in big things, in big moments, when everyone is watching. Real character emerges in the way we meet our routine, everyday obligations. Really big people are, above everything, courteous, considerate, and generous, not just to some people, in some circumstances, but to everyone all the time. One of the reasons we are known as a great company is that we are known as a company made up of people like that.
For those who have that priceless ingredient of being a little bit wild, hang onto it and don’t let anyone talk you into being the safe company man.“
Matthew Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Adam. Matthew is co-author of the newly released book:Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs.
This is pretty interesting, and inspirational.
Great post. When an IBM executive (of all people) is telling you to take more risks and not be a “company man,” you have nowhere to hide!
Shows how there’s no excuse for safe-playing and not treating employees like real people — not at ANY level of business.
For any successful individual they maintain the same mindset regardless of their current situation. The expression ‘fake it till you make it’ comes to mind, and is one which I often thought sounded underhand. However similar to Stephen Covey’s 7 habits; if you can establish your core values and live by them in all aspects of your life in a consistent manner, then you will gain respect.
For instance, by showing commitment in your daily routine even if it seems to not be making much difference to the big picture, creates the habit of approaching life in this manner.
Consistency pays results by building respect from others and drilling you into a habit which is applicable across your life.
With that in mind, I’m going to go and do some house work.