hi I’m Evan Carmichael and welcome to
another edition of modeling the masters
I believe that the fastest and most
effective way to grow your business is
to model the strategies of people who
have already done what you’re trying to
do so today we’re gonna look at how a
boy whose life was consumed with
partying and drinking managed to turn
his life around take the reins of his
father’s company and turn it into an
international brand this is a story of
former president and CEO of IBM Thomas
Watson jr. in the top lessons that you
can learn from his success Thomas Watson
jr. was a son of IBM founder Thomas
Watson senior 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 not long
before that
Watson juniors 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 in his teenage years Watson
jr. began to suffer from depression as a
result and also partly due to his
undiagnosed dyslexia he struggled to get
through school after being accepted into
Brown University only as a favor to his
prominent father Watson received his
business degree in 1937 immediately upon
graduating Watson went to work for his
father’s growing company IBM he had
little interest in the job but was
unsure of what to do with his life it
wasn’t until World War two that Watson
would find his calling he enlisted in
the Air Force and served as a pilot
chauffeuring top military leaders around
the USSR and learning Russian in the
meantime later years Watson Drina would
recall how easy piloting came to him and
how for the first time ever he had
confidence in his abilities it had been
a suggestion of one of the army generals
he had befriended during his service the
Watson jr. try to follow in the steps of
his father so after the war Watson jr.
did just that and returned the work at
IBM he was promptly promoted to vice
president after just six months and
placed on IBM’s board of directors
four months after that after three years
with IBM Watson jr. had become the
company’s executive vice president a
position he would hold for another three
years until 1952 it was in that year
that Watson senior decided his eldest
son was ready no amount of additional
grooming or training would prepare him
for his next challenge in 1952 Watson
senior stepped aside and appointing his
son as the new president of IBM indeed
Watson jr. would not only create his own
unique legacy as a businessman but would
go on to become named as one of Time
Magazine’s 100 most influential people
in the twentieth century under his
leadership IBM’s revenues tripled and
the company experienced a rate of growth
that few other companies can rival even
today by finding his self-confidence and
by not running away from his past Thomas
Watson jr. was able to go from that
partying drinking lifestyle transform
his life and take his company and build
an international brand to help you
transform your business there are three
action items that you can learn from
Thomas Watson jr. action number one make
the workplace great your company’s
growth will always be limited by the
size of your team if you’re a solo
entrepreneur you’ll only be able to do
so much on your own if you want to
continuum out your momentum you’ll have
to bring people on and if you want great
people to join you you have to make your
workplace great for them have a vision
that gets people inspired push people to
improve their skills and become better
people do work that helps others and
surround yourself with people who all
share the same values if you bring the
right people on board and set them up
for success your growth potential is
limitless like father like son both
Watson senior and his son made it their
number one priority to ensure that IBM
was a company that people wanted to work
for from genuis employee benefit
packages to encouraging an open line of
communication between staff and managers
Watson jr. continued his father
tradition of placing supreme importance
on a worker satisfaction on the Watson
jr. the company initiated a rigorous
hiring process a series of interviews
followed by an aptitude test
but once hired an IBM employee could be
guaranteed a workplace environment where
his or her opinions could be freely
voiced and where
would be listened to by management from
maintaining an open and unimpaired
two-way communication system within the
company to encouraging the contribution
of workers at every level of the company
to overall progress in implementing
methods of appreciation and recognition
Watson jr. made sure that his company
was one of the best you can workout
according to Watson jr. 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’re not only going to live up to that
claim but make IBM an even better place
to work there are many things I would
like IBM to be known for but no matter
how big we could become I want this
company to be known as a company which
has the greatest respect for the
individual this is a company of human
beings not machines personalities not
products people not real estate we have
always believed in IBM that our most
important asset is our people
so we’ve followed a basic principle of
trying to hire train and keep the best
possible people this principle along
with the recognition of the dignity of
every individual is the backbone of IBM
employee relations action item number
two satisfy your customers business
success comes from satisfying your
customers if you’re solving a problem
for them they’re gonna pay you for it
and make your company successful the
bigger the problem is and the more you
can help them the more money you’re
gonna make
always listen to your customers aside
from IBM employees no one was more
important to Watson jr. than the
company’s customers and nothing was more
important than pleasing them whatever it
took he understood the customer
satisfaction lied at the center of his
business success in the budding new
computer industry Marketing would make
the difference in attracting new
customers but was only the satisfied
customer who had returned to the company
time after time Watson jr. boiled down
his operations to a simple formula make
your customers happy and you’ll be
around to work another day
to this end Watson jr. knew it wouldn’t
take much to create the loyal customer
base you wanted all he had to do was
ensure that IBM demonstrated a sincere
desire to meet their wants and help them
with anything they needed machines were
bound to fail Watson jr. knew that all
too well but he also knew
we’re willing to tolerate mechanical
problems so long as they had someone a
real person to care when something went
wrong and it was here where IBM was able
to excel
according to Watson jr. 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’m
speaking not only the service we agree
to provide by contract but also 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
nothing can bring disaster more rapidly
to a business and to its people than a
breakdown in communications and
understanding I think my most important
job in IBM is working with anybody who
has a problem action model number three
integrate integrity into your business
people are attracted to people with
integrity actor with integrity doesn’t
always yield the best short-term results
but always makes for long-term success
if integrity is one of your core values
you’ll attract customers employees
partners and investors who trust you to
do the right thing and will stick by
your side on both the personal
professional levels Watson jr. was
committed to maintaining and acting with
integrity he set a new standard for the
time when it came to businessmen and
their involvement in and advocacy on
social issues in addition to eliminating
the hourly wage and introducing tuition
loans within his own company Watson jr.
also pioneered the idea of matching
grants for charities as an aid for many
successive American presidents Watson
jr. also advocated for increased federal
aid for the poor nuclear disarmament and
a provision of better national health
care Watson juniors integrity extended
not only to his beliefs in a social and
humanitarian responsibility of
businesses but also to the very way in
which his company operated Watson jr.
might have worked with machines but he
never allowed his company to be run by
anything other than rational and
compassionate Minds operating with
integrity was not just a way for Watson
jr. to be able to sleep well at night he
knew that to do so also simply made good
business sense
according to Watson jr. it’s 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’re known as a company made up of
people like that we accept the
responsibilities as a corporate citizen
in the community national and world
affairs we serve our interests best when
we serve the public interest in a
business that moves as fast as ours that
is as complex as ours
that has as many people as ours there
will always be the requirement for many
meetings presentations and appointments
but I think we can make calendar
integrity a way of doing business and
benefits discipline so remember make the
workplace great satisfy your customers
and integrate integrity into your
business to finish up this video I
wanted to share when my favorite true
stories of all Thomas Watson jr. and
some of his best quotes Thomas Watson
senior believed in staying with what you
know the Watson jr. knew that this kind
of thinking would not sustain a company
forever after taking over as president
Watson jr. took the biggest risk he’d
ever taken by investing all of IBM’s
finances into researching developing a
new product line that amounted to five
billion dollars of the company’s money
this risk would not only bankrupt the
company if it didn’t work but make all
the products IBM was currently making
obsolete Watson jr. was sure that
developing a computer that everyone
could use was the wave of the future and
after several delays as well as near
bankruptcy IBM launched the system/360
in 1966 instantly the new computer was
selling to everyone who could afford it
between 1966 to 1970 IBM was selling
more than 35,000 computers a year when
before was selling only around 11,000
IBM’s revenues surpassed 7.5 billion for
the first time in company history during
this time the gamble paid off
thank you for joining me for another
edition of modeling the masters if you
liked the video and you want to see more
please give it a thumbs up below I’d
also love to hear what you have to think
if you’re gonna leave a comment under
the video I always read those and
appreciate seeing them when they come in
so thank you
and we’ll see you on the next episode
another edition of modeling the masters
I believe that the fastest and most
effective way to grow your business is
to model the strategies of people who
have already done what you’re trying to
do so today we’re gonna look at how a
boy whose life was consumed with
partying and drinking managed to turn
his life around take the reins of his
father’s company and turn it into an
international brand this is a story of
former president and CEO of IBM Thomas
Watson jr. in the top lessons that you
can learn from his success Thomas Watson
jr. was a son of IBM founder Thomas
Watson senior 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 not long
before that
Watson juniors 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 in his teenage years Watson
jr. began to suffer from depression as a
result and also partly due to his
undiagnosed dyslexia he struggled to get
through school after being accepted into
Brown University only as a favor to his
prominent father Watson received his
business degree in 1937 immediately upon
graduating Watson went to work for his
father’s growing company IBM he had
little interest in the job but was
unsure of what to do with his life it
wasn’t until World War two that Watson
would find his calling he enlisted in
the Air Force and served as a pilot
chauffeuring top military leaders around
the USSR and learning Russian in the
meantime later years Watson Drina would
recall how easy piloting came to him and
how for the first time ever he had
confidence in his abilities it had been
a suggestion of one of the army generals
he had befriended during his service the
Watson jr. try to follow in the steps of
his father so after the war Watson jr.
did just that and returned the work at
IBM he was promptly promoted to vice
president after just six months and
placed on IBM’s board of directors
four months after that after three years
with IBM Watson jr. had become the
company’s executive vice president a
position he would hold for another three
years until 1952 it was in that year
that Watson senior decided his eldest
son was ready no amount of additional
grooming or training would prepare him
for his next challenge in 1952 Watson
senior stepped aside and appointing his
son as the new president of IBM indeed
Watson jr. would not only create his own
unique legacy as a businessman but would
go on to become named as one of Time
Magazine’s 100 most influential people
in the twentieth century under his
leadership IBM’s revenues tripled and
the company experienced a rate of growth
that few other companies can rival even
today by finding his self-confidence and
by not running away from his past Thomas
Watson jr. was able to go from that
partying drinking lifestyle transform
his life and take his company and build
an international brand to help you
transform your business there are three
action items that you can learn from
Thomas Watson jr. action number one make
the workplace great your company’s
growth will always be limited by the
size of your team if you’re a solo
entrepreneur you’ll only be able to do
so much on your own if you want to
continuum out your momentum you’ll have
to bring people on and if you want great
people to join you you have to make your
workplace great for them have a vision
that gets people inspired push people to
improve their skills and become better
people do work that helps others and
surround yourself with people who all
share the same values if you bring the
right people on board and set them up
for success your growth potential is
limitless like father like son both
Watson senior and his son made it their
number one priority to ensure that IBM
was a company that people wanted to work
for from genuis employee benefit
packages to encouraging an open line of
communication between staff and managers
Watson jr. continued his father
tradition of placing supreme importance
on a worker satisfaction on the Watson
jr. the company initiated a rigorous
hiring process a series of interviews
followed by an aptitude test
but once hired an IBM employee could be
guaranteed a workplace environment where
his or her opinions could be freely
voiced and where
would be listened to by management from
maintaining an open and unimpaired
two-way communication system within the
company to encouraging the contribution
of workers at every level of the company
to overall progress in implementing
methods of appreciation and recognition
Watson jr. made sure that his company
was one of the best you can workout
according to Watson jr. 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’re not only going to live up to that
claim but make IBM an even better place
to work there are many things I would
like IBM to be known for but no matter
how big we could become I want this
company to be known as a company which
has the greatest respect for the
individual this is a company of human
beings not machines personalities not
products people not real estate we have
always believed in IBM that our most
important asset is our people
so we’ve followed a basic principle of
trying to hire train and keep the best
possible people this principle along
with the recognition of the dignity of
every individual is the backbone of IBM
employee relations action item number
two satisfy your customers business
success comes from satisfying your
customers if you’re solving a problem
for them they’re gonna pay you for it
and make your company successful the
bigger the problem is and the more you
can help them the more money you’re
gonna make
always listen to your customers aside
from IBM employees no one was more
important to Watson jr. than the
company’s customers and nothing was more
important than pleasing them whatever it
took he understood the customer
satisfaction lied at the center of his
business success in the budding new
computer industry Marketing would make
the difference in attracting new
customers but was only the satisfied
customer who had returned to the company
time after time Watson jr. boiled down
his operations to a simple formula make
your customers happy and you’ll be
around to work another day
to this end Watson jr. knew it wouldn’t
take much to create the loyal customer
base you wanted all he had to do was
ensure that IBM demonstrated a sincere
desire to meet their wants and help them
with anything they needed machines were
bound to fail Watson jr. knew that all
too well but he also knew
we’re willing to tolerate mechanical
problems so long as they had someone a
real person to care when something went
wrong and it was here where IBM was able
to excel
according to Watson jr. 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’m
speaking not only the service we agree
to provide by contract but also 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
nothing can bring disaster more rapidly
to a business and to its people than a
breakdown in communications and
understanding I think my most important
job in IBM is working with anybody who
has a problem action model number three
integrate integrity into your business
people are attracted to people with
integrity actor with integrity doesn’t
always yield the best short-term results
but always makes for long-term success
if integrity is one of your core values
you’ll attract customers employees
partners and investors who trust you to
do the right thing and will stick by
your side on both the personal
professional levels Watson jr. was
committed to maintaining and acting with
integrity he set a new standard for the
time when it came to businessmen and
their involvement in and advocacy on
social issues in addition to eliminating
the hourly wage and introducing tuition
loans within his own company Watson jr.
also pioneered the idea of matching
grants for charities as an aid for many
successive American presidents Watson
jr. also advocated for increased federal
aid for the poor nuclear disarmament and
a provision of better national health
care Watson juniors integrity extended
not only to his beliefs in a social and
humanitarian responsibility of
businesses but also to the very way in
which his company operated Watson jr.
might have worked with machines but he
never allowed his company to be run by
anything other than rational and
compassionate Minds operating with
integrity was not just a way for Watson
jr. to be able to sleep well at night he
knew that to do so also simply made good
business sense
according to Watson jr. it’s 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’re known as a company made up of
people like that we accept the
responsibilities as a corporate citizen
in the community national and world
affairs we serve our interests best when
we serve the public interest in a
business that moves as fast as ours that
is as complex as ours
that has as many people as ours there
will always be the requirement for many
meetings presentations and appointments
but I think we can make calendar
integrity a way of doing business and
benefits discipline so remember make the
workplace great satisfy your customers
and integrate integrity into your
business to finish up this video I
wanted to share when my favorite true
stories of all Thomas Watson jr. and
some of his best quotes Thomas Watson
senior believed in staying with what you
know the Watson jr. knew that this kind
of thinking would not sustain a company
forever after taking over as president
Watson jr. took the biggest risk he’d
ever taken by investing all of IBM’s
finances into researching developing a
new product line that amounted to five
billion dollars of the company’s money
this risk would not only bankrupt the
company if it didn’t work but make all
the products IBM was currently making
obsolete Watson jr. was sure that
developing a computer that everyone
could use was the wave of the future and
after several delays as well as near
bankruptcy IBM launched the system/360
in 1966 instantly the new computer was
selling to everyone who could afford it
between 1966 to 1970 IBM was selling
more than 35,000 computers a year when
before was selling only around 11,000
IBM’s revenues surpassed 7.5 billion for
the first time in company history during
this time the gamble paid off
thank you for joining me for another
edition of modeling the masters if you
liked the video and you want to see more
please give it a thumbs up below I’d
also love to hear what you have to think
if you’re gonna leave a comment under
the video I always read those and
appreciate seeing them when they come in
so thank you
and we’ll see you on the next episode
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