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Thomas Watson Sr. Articles

Computer Titan: The Early Years of Thomas Watson - Click To Read Article
In his youth, Tom Watson was anything but the picture of success he would later come to be. He was asthmatic, shy and had few friends. But, this loner would soon become one of the greatest and richest salesmen in the world. As one of the most successful self-made industrialists of his time, Watson would turn the winds of fate, transforming his humble beginnings into a career whose legacy continues to this day.

The Computer Revolution: IBM Grows Up - Click To Read Article
Watson now knew that not only did he want to run his own business, but that he could. As a result, he turned down several job offers, choosing instead to approach financier Charles Flint, who had recently joined three companies to create the Computing, Tabulating, and Recording Company. Flint made Watson CTR’s new president.

Lesson #1: Failure Is Your Friend On the Road To Success - Click To Read Article
Watson thought about his success in plain terms. When he was once asked what the secret to all he had achieved in his life was, Watson replied, “It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You’re thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all.”

Lesson #2: Always Choose Action Over Inaction - Click To Read Article
“Lying dead in the water and doing nothing is a comfortable alternative because it is without risk, but it is an absolutely fatal way to manage a business,” said Watson. By the time he had given up control, Watson had created one of the largest and most powerful companies in the entire country; and it wasn’t by sitting still and letting opportunities pass him by that he was able to do so.

Lesson #3: Follow The Path Of The Unsafe - Click To Read Article
“Every time we've moved ahead in IBM, it was because someone was willing to take a chance, put his head on the block, and try something new,” said Watson.

Lesson #4: Back Your Company With Brain Power - Click To Read Article
“All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think,” believed Watson. “The trouble is that men very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work.”

Lesson #5: Strong Management Is The Backbone Of A Strong Company - Click To Read Article
“A man is known by the company he keeps,” Watson once said. “A company is known by the men it keeps.”

From Peddling to Profits: How Thomas Watson Achieved Success - Click To Read Article
When Watson decided to change the name of his company to International Business Machines, he knew that it was a big name for a small company. But, over the next few decades, Watson would build the company to live up to its name. From a traveling door-to-door salesman to CEO of one of the largest expanding companies in the U.S., Watson’s name has since become synonymous with not only the beginnings of the computer industry but with what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. How did he do it?

Thomas Watson Quotes - Click To Read Article
Thomas Watson Quotes





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