IBM songbooks with Think signs in several languages and punched cards
Early Watson era
Thomas J. Watson Sr., along with 29 other NCR officials, had been convicted in 1913 of various antitrust violations for their roles in a widespread National Cash Register scheme to run used cash register retailers out of business (see NCR Corporation § Expansion).[43] Watson's extortionate writings were used as evidence against him. That lesson taught Watson to keep very little in writing after that. In 1914, having been fired from NCR Corporation and with a prison sentence threatening his future, Thomas J. Watson approached Flint, a leading financier, for assistance in finding a similar job. Despite his apparently perilous situation, he was still very clear about the type of job he wanted. He had already turned down several offers. He wanted control of the business to earn a share of the profits. Flint offered him CTR. Flint was, as described earlier, a great promoter of trusts and was presumably less worried about Watson's impending jail sentence. The other members of the CTR board were less optimistic, asking who was to run the company while he was in prison. As a result, they only gave him the title of general manager.[44] After Watson had been at CTR for 11 months, the Appeals Court ordered a retrial. Although he refused to sign a Consent Decree, a new trial never took place, and the board of CTR duly promoted him to the position of president. Among the many things Watson brought to CTR from NCR was the motto Think.[45]
Watson's strategies
Surprisingly, given his record at NCR and his later colossal influence on IBM, Watson initially maintained a very low profile (almost tantamount to seeking obscurity) for the next decade until 1924, when the chairman George W. Fairchild died, and he finally took over sole control.[46] For the whole of the previous decade, in some ways uncharacteristically, he consistently deferred to Flint, Fairchild, and Hollerith.[citation needed]
In the meantime, he took personal charge of 400 demoralized and poorly-supervised salesmen. His stated objective was to produce a sales force in the NCR mold and advanced machines that would be superior to any of the competitors' machines. He presented his 'competitive proposition' in several small meetings to the sales force. Despite the aggressive-sounding title, right from these beginnings, there was as much emphasis on the ethics and philosophies of the business as there was on sales techniques. In particular, he stressed sincerity, integrity, and loyalty, saying that they should do nothing that could be construed as 'unfair competition' and should conduct themselves in an 'honest, fair and square way' – something which would be radical even today. Musical events, even IBM songs, were introduced to improve and maintain employee morale.[47]
The other philosophies that motivated CTR and IBM for the next
three-quarters of a century were also evident. The company motto was to
be 'We sell and deliver service'; CTR was to be in the business of
genuinely assisting its customers. Watson strongly believed that both
sides came out ahead when a sale was made.[citation needed]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computing-Tabulating-Recording_Company
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