DISCERNING READERS
  • Home
  • About
  • Books / Bibliography
    • THINK Again! >
      • Preface
      • Foreword
      • Introduction
      • Business Talk Interview
      • Book Trailers and Videos
    • A View from Beneath >
      • Preface
      • Resource Actions >
        • Two R.A. Days Hit Home
        • R.A. Day Kills Productivity
      • Business Talk Interview
      • Book Trailers and Videos
    • The World's Greatest Salesman >
      • Preface
      • Introduction
      • Workplace Safety
      • Images and Quotes
      • Book Trailers / Videos
    • Essays on Leadership >
      • Democracy in Business
      • We Are All Assistants >
        • Frank Venner: We Are All Assistants
      • We Forgive Thoughtful Mistakes
    • Bibliography Overview >
      • Capitalists >
        • Baruch, Bernard M. >
          • My Own Story
          • The Public Years >
            • A Review
            • Second Thoughts
        • Schiff, Jacob H.
      • Educators >
        • Washington, Booker T >
          • Up From Slavery
          • Character Building
          • My Larger Education
      • IBM >
        • IBM Books >
          • IBM Classics
          • IBM Executives' Books
          • IBM Employees' Books
          • IBM Outsiders' Books
        • IBM Publications >
          • THINK Magazine
          • Business Machines
          • IBM Heart and Soul >
            • Endicott Memorial Day
            • Poughkeepsie Memorial Day
          • IBM Art Books
        • IBM Situational
      • Industrialists >
        • Anthologies >
          • The Book of Business
          • New Ideals in Business
          • Master Workers' Library
          • The Age of Big Business
          • Famous Leaders Series Home Page >
            • Leaders of Character
            • Leaders of Industry: 1st Series
            • Leaders of Industry: 2nd Series
            • Leaders of Industry: 3rd Series
            • Leaders of Industry: 6th Series
          • Forbes' Anthologies
        • Armour, J. Ogden >
          • The Packers
          • The Packers: Second Look
        • Baldwin, William H.
        • Beatty, Edward
        • Bell, Alexander Graham
        • Carnegie, Andrew >
          • Carnegie Quotes
          • Carnegie Autobiography
          • Carnegie Biography by B. J. Hendrick
          • Round the World
          • The Empire of Business
          • An American Four-in-Hand
        • Eastman, George
        • Edison, Thomas A. >
          • Edison: His Life and Inventions
          • Edison: My Friend
        • Farquhar, A. B.
        • Filene, Edward A. >
          • The Way Out >
            • Captains of Industry vs. Captains of Finance
          • Successful Living >
            • Rules of Success
        • Firestone, Harvey S. >
          • Men and Rubber
          • Making an Organization
        • Flint, Charles R.
        • Ford, Henry >
          • Books by Henry Ford
          • The Last Billionaire
          • My Forty Years with Ford
        • Gary, Elbert H.
        • Guggenheim, William
        • Hill, James J.
        • Hollerith, Herman
        • Johnson, George F.
        • Patterson, John H.
        • Penney, James C. >
          • Fifty Years With the Golden Rule
        • Procter, William C.
        • Rockefeller Sr., John D.
        • Rosenwald, Julius
        • Sloan Jr., Alfred P.
        • Swope, Gerard >
          • Swope of G.E.
          • The Swope Plan
          • Selected Addresses
        • Verity, George M. >
          • True Steel
          • Character & Success
        • Wanamaker, John >
          • A Business Biography
          • Retail Firsts
        • Watson Jr., Thomas J. >
          • A Business and Its Beliefs
          • Management Briefings
          • Father, Son & Company
        • Watson Sr., Thomas J. >
          • Human Relations
          • Men-Minutes-Money
          • The Lengthening Shadow
        • Young, Owen D. >
          • Selected Addresses
          • New Industrial Leader
      • Journalists >
        • Baker, Ray Stannard >
          • Autobiography
          • The Color Line
          • Woodrow Wilson
        • Crowther, Samuel >
          • Articles >
            • Bantam Ball Bearing
          • Biographies
          • Industrialist Anthology
        • Gunther, John >
          • Eisenhower
        • Steffens, Lincoln
        • Sullivan, Mark >
          • Overview
          • Our Times
        • Tarbell, Ida M. >
          • Overview
          • Lincoln Centennial
          • Lincoln Publications
          • Corporate Publications
          • Fiction Publications
          • Other Publications
      • Pioneers / Explorers >
        • Byrd, Richard E. >
          • Alone
          • Discovery
        • Columbus, Christopher
      • Politicians >
        • Eisenhower, Dwight D.
        • Hoover, Herbert >
          • The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson
          • The Problems of Lasting Peace
        • Lincoln, Abraham
        • Mesta, Perle
        • Roosevelt, Teddy
        • Roper, Daniel C. >
          • Fifty Years of Public Life
        • Wilson, Woodrow >
          • The New Freedom
          • The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson
          • Life and Letters >
            • Volume IV: President
            • Volume V: Neutrality
            • Volume VI: Facing War
          • Woodrow Wilson's Last Words
      • Preachers >
        • Fosdick, Harry Emerson
      • Publishers >
        • Forbes, B. C. >
          • Men Who Are Making America
          • Men Who Are Making the West
          • Automotive Giants of America
          • Little Bits about Big Men
          • America's 50 Foremost Business Leaders
          • Scrapbook of Thoughts on Business of Life
          • America's Twelve Master Salesmen
          • 101 Unusual Experiences
        • Fortune Magazine >
          • USA: The Permanent Revolution
        • Shaw, A. W. >
          • Handling Men >
            • Why We Are Hiring Women
          • The Companion Series
    • Research Sites
    • Acknowledgements
  • 21st Century IBM
    • Corporate Performance >
      • Comparing KPIs
      • Brand Performance >
        • Forbes' Best Employer
      • Patent Performance >
        • 2021 Patent Performance
        • 2020 Patent Performance
        • 2019 Patent Performance
        • 2018 Patent Performance
      • Revenue Performance
    • Corporate Practices >
      • Acquisitions >
        • Acquisition: Red Hat >
          • A $35 Billion Gamble
          • IBM + Red Hat 2019 Results
        • Acquisitions: Goodwill
        • Acquisitions: Since 2001
      • Centralization >
        • A Lost Federation
        • The Need to Decentralize
      • Divestitures >
        • Kyndryl Analysis
        • Kyndryl Top Questions
        • Martin Schroeter
      • Employees >
        • Resource Actions
        • Age Discrimination >
          • Cutting Old Heads
        • Employee Engagement
        • Aren't Buying Into IBM
        • Massive Work Slowdown
        • Failure of Work at Home
      • Financial Engineering >
        • Workforce Rebalancing
        • Aggressive Bookkeeping
      • Shareholders >
        • Share Buybacks
        • Shareholder Risk
        • Employee Engagement
        • Warren Buffett's Mistake
        • Do Share Buybacks Work?
    • CEO Performance >
      • Arvind Krishna Overview >
        • Overall Performance >
          • Revenue & Profit
          • Revenue & Profit Growth
          • Revenue & Profit Productivity
          • IBM Market Value
          • Shareholder Returns & Risk
          • Employment Security
        • First Year Performance >
          • Revenue & Profit
          • Revenue & Profit Growth
          • Revenue & Profit Productivity
          • IBM Market Value
          • Shareholder Returns & Risk
          • Share Buybacks
        • The First 100 Days
      • Ginni Rometty Overview >
        • Shareholder Value
        • Shareholder Risk
        • Share Buybacks
        • Dividend Strategy
        • Acquisition Strategy
        • Revenue & Profit Productivity
        • Revenue & Profit Growth
        • Revenue & Profit
  • 20th Century IBM
    • Corporate Performance >
      • IBM's Greatest CEO >
        • Shareholder Returns
        • Revenue Growth
        • Revenue Per Employee
        • Profit Growth
        • Profit Per Employee
        • Market Value
        • Goodwill
        • Economic Contractions
        • Economic Expansions
        • Stock Market Headwinds
        • CEO Historic Footnotes >
          • IBM's Founding Team
          • Financial Engineering
          • The Greatest Gamble
    • Corporate Practices >
      • IBM Anniversaries
      • IBM Benefits
      • IBM Creativity >
        • IBM Cartoons
        • IBM Song Books
        • IBM UK Dictionary
        • IBM Computing Dictionary
      • IBM Wild Ducks >
        • The Wild Goose
        • Royal Dissenters
        • Corporate Constitution
        • Respect for the Individual
        • Service to the Customer
        • Pursuit of Excellence
    • Corporate Products >
      • 1890: U.S. Census
      • 1920: Dayton Scales
      • 1940: The Electromatic
    • Thomas J. Watson Sr. >
      • Articles by Watson >
        • On World Peace
        • On the Cost of War
        • On Public Education
        • On Thomas Jefferson
        • On Thoughtful Mistakes
        • On Stakeholder Relations
      • Articles about Watson >
        • The $1,000-A-Day Chief Executive Officer
        • Employees are Valued
        • Democracy's Man o' War
        • Human Relations in 1956
        • A CEO Who Earned His Pay
        • The Lengthening Shadow
      • Slice of Life Stories >
        • Dali, Salvador
        • Drucker, Peter F. >
          • Authority and Power
          • Short-Term Thinking
          • A Corporate Culture
          • Raising Business Issues
          • Focus on Principles
          • Character and Manners
          • Knowledge Workers
          • Recognizing Ability
          • Individual Respect
          • Employee Paternalism
        • Eastman, George
        • Penney, J. C. (James Cash) >
          • Watson Homestead
          • Golden Rule Businesses
        • Fighting Discrimination
      • Pre-World War II >
        • A Lost Dream of Peace
        • USO Camp Show Founder
      • World War II Effort >
        • Selling War Bonds
        • Production Awards
        • Controlling Profits
        • Machine Records Units
        • Wartime Contributions
        • Widows & Orphans Fund
        • Declaring Human Rights
        • Supporting Home Morale
        • Employee Military Service
        • War's End & Reconversion
      • Post-World War II >
        • Endicott Memorial
        • Poughkeepsie Memorial
        • Rehiring WWII Veterans
      • A Pajama Party
      • A 1943 Tax Problem
      • The Story of "THINK"
      • A Gift of Retirement
      • Learning from Crises
      • IBM Employee Housing >
        • Construction Timeline
      • Two Journalists "THINK"
      • A Buddy Davis Interview
      • Quotes of Watson
      • Quotes about Watson
      • Women in the Workplace
      • A Successful Rebranding
      • Tom Watson's Wild Ducks
  • Articles
    • Corporate Articles >
      • High-Performance Corporations
      • The Art of the Restart
      • Crises, Recoveries & Lessons Learned
      • Strategy Should Create Human Relationships
      • A Time-Tested Corporate Constitution
      • IBM, JC Penney and The Golden Rule
      • How IBM Created its 20th Century Brand
      • The Greatest Business Risk of the 20th Century
      • How to Grow a Business
      • The Importance of Sales Productivity
      • How Much Is a Great CEO Worth
      • Let Your Guard Down
    • Business Articles >
      • Business Witticism
      • The Golden Rule in Business
      • Who and What Built Early American Capitalism
      • Capitalism Needs Industrialist Minded CEOs
      • Producing Corporate True Steel
      • CEO Perspectives >
        • Rules of Success
        • Top Employee Qualities
        • Industrialist vs. Capitalist
      • An Open Letter to the World's CEOs
      • Henry Ford Takes Control
      • The Razor Blade Business Model
      • Two Successful 20th Century Businesswomen
      • Sears: A Dead Franchise Walking
      • A LinkedIn Incognito Mode
      • Value a College Education
    • Political Articles >
      • Political Witticisms
      • Memorial Day
      • Pursuing The "American Way"
      • America: Home of the Brave
      • Securing the Borders of the Americas
      • General Grant's Stand for Justice
      • America's Heartland Stands Strong
      • The New Freedom
      • Teddy Roosevelt on Socialism
      • Women as Citizens
      • Mary Slessor of Calabar
    • Spiritual Articles >
      • Inauguration Day Prayer
      • Wilson's Last Words
      • Spiritual Songs
    • Fiction Articles >
      • A Father's Love
      • Introducing a Friend to God
      • Hyphenated Relationships
  • Contact
  • Blog

A Review of "Discovery" by Admiral Richard E. Byrd

9/16/2023

0 Comments

 
Discovery, although a magnificent story of the physical side of enduring the cold and isolation over a long period of time in an unexplored part of the world, is more so a work about men, who, when confronted by this unknown, can and did work together to achieve a common goal: general exploration.
A high quality image with the pictures of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and the front covers of his three books: Little America, Discovery, and Alone.
Select image or link below to read our review.
​Additionally, this is the strongest of reads about an apolitical man of honesty and integrity. Admiral Richard E. Byrd was a great American pioneer and explorer with a great sense of humor and one seemingly overriding trait we see all too little of today: humility.

In this day of meandering, oversized, and not-very-opaque political egomaniacs …
… this was a most refreshing read.

​It is a non-fiction story of the greatest kind that restored my faith in man.
Full Review of "Discovery" by Admiral Richard E. Byrd.
0 Comments

Book Review: "Fifty Years of Public Life"

9/8/2023

0 Comments

 

Daniel C. Roper, United States Secretary of Commerce

​“The righteousness of either side of a question depends upon the sources of information and an open-minded willingness to examine different views. . . ."
Picture
​“All wholesome growth is leisurely. Most of the waste of the world is occasioned by haste. If we can’t have patience we might as well quit. ​Wherever there is life, its greatest privileges are to be enjoyed and its most beautiful promises come to flower only if the law of patience is obeyed.”
This autobiography is a recommended read written by a former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Daniel C. Roper. Select image above or the link below to read the article: (1) Reviews from the time of publication of the book, (2) selected excerpts from the book, and (3) a few thoughts about the book by Peter E. Greulich.
Read a Book Review of Daniel C. Roper's "Fifty Years of Public Life."
0 Comments

Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick: The Meaning of Service

8/30/2023

0 Comments

 
This is an excerpt from Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick's "The Meaning of Service:"
"I do not care a rush what denomination you belong to, I do not very much care what special creed you profess, but I do care beyond all expression that the result of that creed in your daily life should be to make you a power for good amongst your fellowmen. . . . ​We hear much talk about creeds, professions of faith and the like; but I want you to remember that ​when God started to write a creed for us, He did it . . . 
Picture
" . . . not in words that might change their meaning, but He set before us a life [the life of Jesus Christ], as though to teach us that whereas theology was a science which could be argued about, religion was a life and could only be lived."
Quintin Hogg, Letter to a Boy He Saved
This is an excerpt from Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick's nightstand-reading book entitled: "The Meaning of Service." This is a short book I am currently reading after his book: "The Power to See It Through." An amazing preacher and teacher of talent and insight. I am working on a Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick's Home Page to capture his insights and my thoughts on those insights.
Harry Emerson Fosdick "The Power to See It Through"
0 Comments

An Amazing Biography of Christopher Columbus

8/23/2023

0 Comments

 
​My education on Christopher Columbus was severely wanting. It, like most people’s insights, was reduced to a mariner discovering the New World in 1942 "by sailing the ocean blue.”
Slide with a picture of the front cover and spine of Samuel Eliot Morison's
​If anyone had told me that Columbus sailed to the Americas four times in twelve years, and then described the conditions he underwent to achieve this—both economic, political, spiritual, and physical, I would have said: “Really, no one taught me that!” No one taught me the story of the pioneer, the discoverer, the explorer and the leader … and the hardships he faced as a result.
​And so it is, our self-education remains our personal responsibility. Don’t let others mislead you—even me. My advice is that if you want to understand Christopher Columbus—the good and questionable, start with this book.
Review of Samuel Morison's "Admiral of the Ocean Sea."
0 Comments

Slavery's History: For Kamala Harris and Ron DeSantis

8/14/2023

0 Comments

 
I read this book after reading the contrasting positions on slavery between our Vice-President, Kamala Harris, and Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis. The disagreement involves if American blacks—males and females, might be better off today, even after suffering the terrible indignations of slavery before the Civil War.​​
Picture of Mary Slessor and the front cover of her biography:
​I do not like having politicians, with their political agendas, controlling my thoughts so I decided to read a book about the conditions in the major slave-trading ports of Africa in the immediate, post-Civil War timeframes from 1876 to 1915.
Choose the image above or the link below to read the full review and gain insights from a book that intimately describes the African culture of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. You decide.

​Personally, I think Booker T. Washington got it right.
Review of "Mary Slessor of Calabar."
0 Comments

Video: Why I Stand For the National Anthem

8/11/2023

0 Comments

 
Select the link below to read the script of this video.
Video and Script: Why I Stand for the National Anthem.

0 Comments

Charles E. Sorensen's "My Forty Years with Ford"

8/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
​This is the sixth book I have read concerning Henry Ford: (1) My Life and Work, (2) Today and Tomorrow, (3) Moving Forward, (4) 365 Henry Ford Sayings, and (5) The Last Billionaire. The first three were written in conjunction with Samuel Crowther—who is mentioned in this latest book.
In my opinion, The Last Billionaire by William Richards is the best of the works at presenting a balanced perspective on Mr. Ford. It presents him as a complete man within a changing society. It balances his eccentricities as both strengths and weaknesses [Reviews of Crowther’s books are here] [The review of "The Last Billionaire" is here].
In any prioritized list of books, this work of "Cast-Iron Charlie's" should be added as last. If Sorensen knew Henry Ford “as well as any man alive or dead” he left out the compassionate side of his chief executive and, maybe, in so doing reveals a weakness in himself. Sorensen either did not know or appreciate, or did not write any of the human-interest stories of Mr. Ford that come across in the other biographies.

I don't think he knew Henry Ford as well as he thought he did.
Read the Full review of Sorensen's "My Forty Years wit Ford."
0 Comments

Book Review: Fortune's "USA: The Permanent Revolution"

7/29/2023

0 Comments

 
It is refreshing to read in a major work from 1951 by the editors of Fortune magazine an affirmation of a basic fundamental foundation of capitalism that I arrived at in my research for "THINK Again: IBM CAN Maximize Shareholder Value."
​"One of the major responsibilities of a chief executive officer is the maintenance of a balanced, self-sustaining stakeholder ecosystem."
Peter E. Greulich, Author and Public Speaker

The following is an excerpt from "USA: The Permanent Revolution.
Picture of Russell W. Davenport in an advertisement for
​“The manager is becoming a professional in the sense that like all professional men he has a responsibility to society as a whole.

​"This is not to say that he no longer needs good, old-fashioned business sense. He does, and more than ever; the modern enterprise should be in business to make money. …  But 
​​…
"The great happy paradox of the profit motive in the American System is that management, precisely because it is in business to make money years on end, cannot concentrate exclusively on making money here and now.
​
“To keep making money years on end, it must, in the words of Frank Abrams, Chairman of Standard Oil of New Jersey, ‘conduct the affairs of the enterprise in such a way as to maintain an equitable and working balance among the claims of the various directly interested groups—stockholders, employees, customers, and the public at large.’ ”
Read the Review of Fortune's "USA: The Permanent Revolution."
0 Comments

Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick: "The High Uses of Serenity"

6/29/2023

0 Comments

 
​“This basic law holds good: nothing great without serenity.
Picture of man with serenity and at peace.
“Let us get our eye clearly, then, on what we are talking of—not serenity as an escape from life, but as an indispensable part of life: what rest is to the body, what peace is to the home, what roots are to the tree, what depth is to an ocean.

​"Nothing in heaven above or the earth beneath can be great without serenity! …
“There are people who are trying to substitute thrills for serenity. Having no serenity at home within themselves, they run away into sensations, spend as much time as possible away from themselves amid their thrills, and then at last have to come back again to no serenity.
​“That is the very essence of unhappiness.”
​"The High Uses of Serenity," Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick
The Power to See It Through
To read a few more quotes from this book and this author's review of Harry Emerson Fosdick's, The Power to See It Through, select the image above or the link below.
Review of Harry Emerson Fosdick's: "The Power to See It Through."
0 Comments

Why I Stand for the National Anthem

5/21/2023

0 Comments

 
It seems that with so many kneeling before our flag and during our national anthem, the majority of us have a hard time explaining why we stand.
Picture of Abraham LIncoln.
Maybe these words will help you. If they do, share them as you see fit.
This is why this U.S. Army veteran stands:
"Because America is not only the home of the brave, but of the respectful, tolerant and forgiving."
May we never forget those who made the perfect sacrifice for us, their imperfect brethren.
Select the image above or the link below to read the article, be thankful and know why I stand, and maybe, it will help you stand stronger and taller this Memorial Day in remembrance of our fallen, perfect brethren.
Peter E. Greulich
Why I Stand for the National Anthem
0 Comments

Are You Surrendering Your "Staying Power?"

5/16/2023

0 Comments

 
Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote of the distinction between "starting power" and "staying power." I had been trying to put into words the effect of people's opinions expressed "in the raw" on social media on both myself and others around me. Sometimes it feels as though the "staying power" of whole generations is being attacked by this new outlet of unchecked, unverified, and too-many-times illiterate, opinions of the opinionated.

I know I need to refresh my "staying power." This is the topic Dr. Fosdick spoke on in 1935.
This is a short excerpt.

Image of green
However beautiful one's beginning, nothing matters much in human life without a good end. 
"To give a child a good start, we say, is the most essential benediction that can be bestowed upon him or her. This emphasis  is profoundly important and it represents truth, just not the whole truth. …​
"The qualities which make a good start possible are not identical with the qualities which see life through to the end. In no realm are "starting power" and "staying power" the same thing. ​… However beautiful one's beginning, nothing matters much in human life without a good end. … 
"Staying power is associated with a certain central integrity of conscience. Whatever else life may give or may deny, one thing is absolutely indispensable—that a man should not break faith with himself, that he should keep his honor bright. … that whatever else may fail he should not inwardly be a failure. …

​"Whatever happens, a man living on high terms with himself, is the essence of "staying power."
Harry Emerson Fosdick, The Power to See It Through, 1935
If I had been sitting in the church pew this day in 1935, I would have shouted "Amen, Dr. Fosdick!"
0 Comments

Sarah Butler on Women Suffrage: Women as Citizens

5/11/2023

0 Comments

 
​“The women voters of the country are facing the first real test of their value as citizens. . …
Image of Woman Suffragette taking on Crooked Politics, Corruption, Vice, Crime and Booze.
From The American Review of Reviews, 1920
“In the presidential election of 1920, little was expected of the women, for the suffrage amendment had only recently been ratified. But this year the situation is different. … 

“Those who believed that woman suffrage would bring about the “political millennium” have been disappointed. … Those who claimed that women could not take any part in active political work have … to admit that they were mistaken.

​“The truth seems to lie midway between these two extremes. ”
Sarah Schuyler Butler, June 1924
Select to Read the Entire Article: "Women as Citizens."
0 Comments

Ralph Waldo Emerson on "Culture"

4/25/2023

0 Comments

 
"The secret of culture is to learn that a few great points throughout history steadily reappear …​  and that these few are alone are to be regarded:
Image of the spines of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Five Volume Set of Essays
  • ​Courage to be what we are;
  • Love of what is simple and beautiful;
  • Independence and cheerful relations;
  • The wish to serve …​  to add somewhat to the well-being of men.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Conduct of Life"
I do wonder how many of us when we talk about our "work culture" or our "societal culture" apply these standards to our individual, daily contributions?

​Especially, do we wish to serve … to add somewhat to the well-being of mankind?
​Peter E. Greulich
0 Comments

For Knowledge Workers, "Effectiveness" Is What Matters

4/19/2023

0 Comments

 
Image of the front cover of Peter F. Drucker's
I would challenge any executive or employee to look at these following insights and not wonder, "Why can't we learn from the past?" As much as every generation has its differences, human nature is a constant that evolves over eons, not generations. These thoughts are over five decades old, but as new as every article you read today on "Quiet Quitting," and "Acting Your Wage."

Eventually, everything comes back to and onto the individual.

You "knowledge workers" control your destiny and attitude.

​Be effective!
Peter E. Greulich, April 19, 2023
Quotes from Peter F. Drucker's "The Effective Executive"
Achieving Effectiveness, not Efficiency?
"For manual work, we need only efficiency; that is, the ability to do things right rather than the ability to get the right things done. … Working on the right things is what makes knowledge work effective."

Why Do Employees Check Out?
"The knowledge worker cannot be supervised closely or in detail. He can only be helped. But he must direct himself, and he must direct himself toward performance and contribution, that is, toward effectiveness. … The motivation of the knowledge worker depends on his being effective, on his being able to achieve.

​"If effectiveness is lacking in his work, his commitment to work and to contribution will soon wither, and he will become a time-server going through the motions from 9 to 5."

What is an Executive?
"I have called 'executives' those knowledge workers, managers, or individual professionals who are expected by virtue of their position or their knowledge to make decisions in the normal course of their work that have significant impact on the performance and results of the whole."
More on Peter F. Drucker and Thomas J. Watson Leadership Thoughts
0 Comments

New Booker T. Washington "Book Review" Home Page

3/16/2023

0 Comments

 
After reading three of Booker T. Washington's books, Character Building, My Larger Education, and Up from Slavery, it seemed appropriate to establish a home page for his works and my reviews.
Slide with picture of Booker T. Washington sitting and the front covers of his books
I agree with this statement of Booker T. Washington's from his book Up from Slavery. 
“The older I grow, the more I am convinced that there is no education which one can get from books and costly apparatus that is equal to that which can be gotten from contact with great men and women."
Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery
Booker T. Washington was one of these great men, and I am learning from his wisdom. I would add that we should also learn from the mistakes of the great--and lesser, men and women. 
Booker T. Washington Home Page
0 Comments

An IBM Case Study for Warren Buffett's "Economically Illiterate"

2/28/2023

0 Comments

 
Rather than shortchange Warren Buffett and write an article for clickbait, here is what he wrote about share buybacks in his report to shareholders this year (2023).
Image of baseball umpire yelling
​"When you are told that all repurchases are harmful to shareholders or to the country, or particularly beneficial to CEOs, you are listening to either an economic illiterate or a silver-tongued demagogue (characters that are not mutually exclusive) [emphasis above is Warren Buffett's not mine.]."
It would be my contention that "anytime" a writer uses the words "all" or "every" or "always" that the reader should raise their level of distrust ... just a bit ... to catch a possible misleading generalization. Rarely is anyone always or in every way, one thing or another ... be skeptical and inquisitive.
Select the image above or the icon below to read an IBM Case Study: Do Share Buybacks Work?No, all repurchases aren't harmful, but historically some have been, and Warren Buffett--at one time--bought into IBM's share buyback strategy, and then got out. He should have used IBM as an example to ensure we all are not . . .

. . . economically illiterate!
Cheers,

​- Peter E.
An IBM Case Study: Do Share Buybacks Work?
0 Comments

The Best President's Day Speech Ever: Ida M. Tarbell

2/18/2023

0 Comments

 
We Should All Be Abraham Lincolns
​This was an address delivered by Ida M. Tarbell on February 12, 1909 at the University of Michigan in honor of the Centennial Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Subheadings were added for clarity by Peter E. Greulich and are his sole responsibility and interpretation.
Slide with pictures of Abraham Lincoln from Ida M. Tarbell's works.
Select image to read the Tarbell's speech.
The theme of this address by one of our country's greatest journalists and well-known "muckraker" is that "We Should All Be Abraham Lincolns."
I hope you find time to enjoy this on President's Day . . . a day that has lost too much of its meaning as so many view it as just a day off from school.
Peter E. Greulich
Ida M. Tarbell's "We Should All Be Abraham Lincolns"
0 Comments

Owen D. Young, General Electric Chairman on Unemployment

1/26/2023

0 Comments

 
Image of Owen D. Young and front cover of his biography,
We must deal with this question of unemployment, which I regard as the greatest economic blot on our capitalistic system. … The world does not owe men a living, but business, if it is to fulfill its ideal, owes men an opportunity to earn a living. 
Owen D. Young, Chairman of the Board
​General Electric Company
A different perspective on unemployment from another great industrialist from America's 20th Century business leadership. Select image above or the icon below to read more about Owen D. Young, Chairman of the Board of General Electric Company.
Peter E. Greulich
Owen D. Young: A New Type of Industrial Leader
0 Comments

How Layoffs Affect Family and Business Productivity

1/23/2023

0 Comments

 
It seems appropriate this week to post about how layoffs affect work and family. At IBM the employees have lived with constant layoffs--called resource actions in IBM speak, since Lou Gerstner took over the company in 1993.

This is one example of how Gerstner's elephant--and that of his successor's, "danced" on the livelihoods of their employees.
Picture of Dancing Elephant Crying and Slide Title:
These are examples of three layoffs at IBM, not during hard times but when times were supposedly good.
What are resource actions? They are as hard to explain as they are to experience, and IBM employees have been experiencing them for almost three decades. These two articles (extracted from journal entries) are critical to understanding why IBM's sales and profit productivity have fallen so drastically in the 21st Century.

Here are three resource actions … in action.

These are chapters from Peter E. Greulich's "A View from Beneath the Dancing Elephant" a different perspective from Lou Gerstner's "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?"

It explains why IBM's employee productivity has been dropping for more than two decades.

It seems our corporate leadership should be reading this.
Two Examples of How Layoffs--Resource Actions, Affect Work and Family.
0 Comments

Daniel C Roper: Old Thoughts but Forever Truths

1/19/2023

0 Comments

 
"It dawned upon me that interpretation of truth, or the righteousness of either side of a question depended upon the sources of information and an open-minded willingness to examine different views."
Daniel C. Roper's Autobiography, Fifty Years of Public Life, 1941

As applicable today in a social-media-driven world as it was in the rock-and-spear Stone Age, and all the eras in between. Daniel C. Roper was ​the United States Secretary of Commerce during Tom Watson's time at IBM. Fundamentally, thinking is important but also the sources of information that your thinking is founded on.

A good case for the social sciences and attaining a wide, generalized education.
Peter E. Greulich, January 19, 2023
0 Comments

J. C. Penney: Old Thoughts but Forever Truths

1/11/2023

0 Comments

 
First Thought
“I don't have much patience with people I hear saying that it is impossible to get good people for jobs. . . . Won't it follow naturally that if a business idea is basically sound it will draw to itself quality people, not only because of the job but because they want to be connected with a business whose underlying idea has vigor, and offers scope for individual initiative?"
Second Thought
Slide with 1925 picture of James C. Penney and his quotes.
​“Our country could have been mightier than it is, had not some throughout every period of its history retarded its growth by greed, corruption in high places, petty partisanship in crucial periods, and individual selfishness.  . . .  Selfishness, of course, is the festering spot in every evil situation, whether world, nation, or individual.”
Third Thought
​“My advice to young people today is to let no day pass without pushing personal standards a notch higher. The law of struggle is the essence of all life—animal, vegetable, and human. Our progress from birth to death is marked by struggle, and rightly so, for when we cease to struggle, dry rot takes over.   . . .  Young people who count not their hours but their opportunities are the ones who maintain the difficult road to success.”

Select the link below to read book reviews of J. C. Penney's "Fifty Years With the Golden Rule."
Peter E. Greulich, Author
Read Reviews of J. C. Penney's "Fifty Years With the Golden Rule."
0 Comments

Review of Perle Mesta's "Perle: My Story"

1/8/2023

0 Comments

 
​“I had been in Luxembourg nine months when I returned to Washington for a consultation with the State Department, a customary procedure with ambassadors and ministers. … After my Washington consultations, I went up to New York for a few days and was given a luncheon there that I consider one of the greatest honors of my life [emphasis added].”
“Matthew Woll, the A. F. of L. Vice-President … got together with his friend and mine, Thomas Watson, President of International Business Machines, to co-host the affair."
Slide with images of Perle Mesta and the front cover of her book,
“I don't think a party was ever given anyplace by hosts as far apart as those two [Watson and Woll] in their economic viewpoints. As we looked around the luncheon room at the Hotel Pierre from the head table, Matt Woll commented that only in America could such an affair as this take place, with labor and management getting together socially.
Perle (Pearl) Mesta
Read Reviews of Perle Mesta's Autobiography: "Perle."
0 Comments

Famous Leaders Series: On Industry and Character

1/7/2023

0 Comments

 
The "Famous Leaders" Series of books spanned a timeframe from 1920 to 1955. There was one "Famous Leaders of Character" and a series of six "Famous Leaders of Industry." The target audience was the adolescent reader. It is important to understand the audience to set the proper expectations. I did not realize this when I read the last in the series--The Sixth Series, first.
Slide showing the front cover and spines of Famous Leaders of Character and Famous Leaders of Industry.
​“This is a great country. …

​"A country that provides education in every vocation. Jobs, ownership, and control await the boys who are fit and who make the fight for success.”
​Author: Edwin Wildman
​“Famous Leaders of Industry (with a new author: Trentwell M. White) discusses the lives of twenty-five men who have had the courage and independence … to work night and day to bring the results of their thinking to fruition.”
Trentwell M. White
Go to the "Famous Leader of Industry and Character" Home Page
0 Comments

IBM's Corporate Constitution: The Basic Beliefs

1/2/2023

0 Comments

 
IBM's 20th Century Corporate Constitution was referred to as "The Basic Beliefs."
Picture of three IBM Wild Ducks flying in formation.
A corporate constitution that is unforgettable, pervasive, and inclusive serves as a compass to guide individuals across rough organizational terrain. A constitution beckons to men and women of service who are willing to change everything about themselves except for a fundamental set of beliefs.
​
​Whatever form a corporate constitution takes it must provide three things: (1) It must provide a consistent, ever-present, guiding light—a “north star” by which individuals navigate rough organizational terrain; (2) It must provide the mechanism by which the organization defines its objectives—goals that aren’t necessarily monetary but—if achieved—rewards success with a monetary gain; (3) It must provide an internal mechanism that demands an ever-constant evolution—it should institutionalize change.
Read More About IBM's 20th Century Corporate Constitution
0 Comments

Fosdick: Old Thoughts but Forever Truths

12/7/2022

0 Comments

 
"When the last glacier retreated northward from what is now Connecticut, it left behind as mementos of its visit, great boulders of rock which are now strewn lavishly across the state.
Picture of tree growing from a rock
"Several of them, as large as a corncrib and many tons in weight, were deposited on my farm, and for fifteen years I have watched one of them fight a losing battle with an ash tree. The tree evidently started in a seed lodged in a tiny pocket in the top of the rock.

"When I first saw it, it was a sturdy sapling that had made for itself a comfortable crevice for its roots.
​"​Today, its irresistible growth has torn the massive rock into fragments. This is the law of life. The future belongs not to rigid absolutes, whether they are primal rocks of unyielding social arrangements, but to the thing that can grow, whether it is a tree or a democracy."
Raymond B. Fosdick, "We Must Not Be Afraid of Change,"
​The New York Times, April 3, 1949

This is the starting few paragraphs to a full article written by Raymond B. Fosdick. If you think that what we are facing today is a new threat to democracy, I would highly recommend reading it in its entirety. ​Change and the discussion of change is the way of a people united through democracy . . . a diversity, not so much achieved through shades of color or non-color—black and white, but . . . through thoughtful discussion.
Peter E. Greulich
Access this Article on the New York Times TimesMachine
Access This Article in the "Appendix to the Congressional Record" on Google Books.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Peter E. Greulich

    Pete has been studying IBM and early American corporate history since his retirement in 2011. These are his thoughts and musings, and of those whose biographies he has read with links to articles and book reviews on this website.



    Categories

    All
    Arvind Krishna
    Book Reviews
    Business Articles
    Corporate 101
    Ginni Rometty
    IBM
    Ida M. Tarbell
    Old Men Talking
    Old Thoughts But Forever Truths
    Resource Actions
    Thomas J. Watson
    Witticism


    RSS Feed

© 2023 Peter E. Greulich. All Rights Reserved
Information posted on this site recognizes the legal right of copyrighted material. The following material is considered in the public domain effective January 1, 2023: (1) works published in the United States prior to 1928, (2) all unpublished works created over 120 years ago, (3) works published in the United States before 1978 that have no © copyright notice, and (4) works published in the United States after 1926 but before 1964 with a proper © copyright notice that were not renewed in their 28th year. Some information is used here that does not fit this criteria. It has been minimized, and it is used in good faith and in the belief that such usage would withstand a test of fair use. This site also utilizes images from Pixabay that are "free to use under the Pixabay license" and "do not require attribution." Any concerns with the public domain, fair usage, or attribution of material utilized on this site will be removed until a discussion can resolve the matter with its permanent removal or republication. To reach this author, use the "Contact" menu item above or the "Contact Us" hyperlink provided here: [Contact Us]
  • Home
  • About
  • Books / Bibliography
    • THINK Again! >
      • Preface
      • Foreword
      • Introduction
      • Business Talk Interview
      • Book Trailers and Videos
    • A View from Beneath >
      • Preface
      • Resource Actions >
        • Two R.A. Days Hit Home
        • R.A. Day Kills Productivity
      • Business Talk Interview
      • Book Trailers and Videos
    • The World's Greatest Salesman >
      • Preface
      • Introduction
      • Workplace Safety
      • Images and Quotes
      • Book Trailers / Videos
    • Essays on Leadership >
      • Democracy in Business
      • We Are All Assistants >
        • Frank Venner: We Are All Assistants
      • We Forgive Thoughtful Mistakes
    • Bibliography Overview >
      • Capitalists >
        • Baruch, Bernard M. >
          • My Own Story
          • The Public Years >
            • A Review
            • Second Thoughts
        • Schiff, Jacob H.
      • Educators >
        • Washington, Booker T >
          • Up From Slavery
          • Character Building
          • My Larger Education
      • IBM >
        • IBM Books >
          • IBM Classics
          • IBM Executives' Books
          • IBM Employees' Books
          • IBM Outsiders' Books
        • IBM Publications >
          • THINK Magazine
          • Business Machines
          • IBM Heart and Soul >
            • Endicott Memorial Day
            • Poughkeepsie Memorial Day
          • IBM Art Books
        • IBM Situational
      • Industrialists >
        • Anthologies >
          • The Book of Business
          • New Ideals in Business
          • Master Workers' Library
          • The Age of Big Business
          • Famous Leaders Series Home Page >
            • Leaders of Character
            • Leaders of Industry: 1st Series
            • Leaders of Industry: 2nd Series
            • Leaders of Industry: 3rd Series
            • Leaders of Industry: 6th Series
          • Forbes' Anthologies
        • Armour, J. Ogden >
          • The Packers
          • The Packers: Second Look
        • Baldwin, William H.
        • Beatty, Edward
        • Bell, Alexander Graham
        • Carnegie, Andrew >
          • Carnegie Quotes
          • Carnegie Autobiography
          • Carnegie Biography by B. J. Hendrick
          • Round the World
          • The Empire of Business
          • An American Four-in-Hand
        • Eastman, George
        • Edison, Thomas A. >
          • Edison: His Life and Inventions
          • Edison: My Friend
        • Farquhar, A. B.
        • Filene, Edward A. >
          • The Way Out >
            • Captains of Industry vs. Captains of Finance
          • Successful Living >
            • Rules of Success
        • Firestone, Harvey S. >
          • Men and Rubber
          • Making an Organization
        • Flint, Charles R.
        • Ford, Henry >
          • Books by Henry Ford
          • The Last Billionaire
          • My Forty Years with Ford
        • Gary, Elbert H.
        • Guggenheim, William
        • Hill, James J.
        • Hollerith, Herman
        • Johnson, George F.
        • Patterson, John H.
        • Penney, James C. >
          • Fifty Years With the Golden Rule
        • Procter, William C.
        • Rockefeller Sr., John D.
        • Rosenwald, Julius
        • Sloan Jr., Alfred P.
        • Swope, Gerard >
          • Swope of G.E.
          • The Swope Plan
          • Selected Addresses
        • Verity, George M. >
          • True Steel
          • Character & Success
        • Wanamaker, John >
          • A Business Biography
          • Retail Firsts
        • Watson Jr., Thomas J. >
          • A Business and Its Beliefs
          • Management Briefings
          • Father, Son & Company
        • Watson Sr., Thomas J. >
          • Human Relations
          • Men-Minutes-Money
          • The Lengthening Shadow
        • Young, Owen D. >
          • Selected Addresses
          • New Industrial Leader
      • Journalists >
        • Baker, Ray Stannard >
          • Autobiography
          • The Color Line
          • Woodrow Wilson
        • Crowther, Samuel >
          • Articles >
            • Bantam Ball Bearing
          • Biographies
          • Industrialist Anthology
        • Gunther, John >
          • Eisenhower
        • Steffens, Lincoln
        • Sullivan, Mark >
          • Overview
          • Our Times
        • Tarbell, Ida M. >
          • Overview
          • Lincoln Centennial
          • Lincoln Publications
          • Corporate Publications
          • Fiction Publications
          • Other Publications
      • Pioneers / Explorers >
        • Byrd, Richard E. >
          • Alone
          • Discovery
        • Columbus, Christopher
      • Politicians >
        • Eisenhower, Dwight D.
        • Hoover, Herbert >
          • The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson
          • The Problems of Lasting Peace
        • Lincoln, Abraham
        • Mesta, Perle
        • Roosevelt, Teddy
        • Roper, Daniel C. >
          • Fifty Years of Public Life
        • Wilson, Woodrow >
          • The New Freedom
          • The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson
          • Life and Letters >
            • Volume IV: President
            • Volume V: Neutrality
            • Volume VI: Facing War
          • Woodrow Wilson's Last Words
      • Preachers >
        • Fosdick, Harry Emerson
      • Publishers >
        • Forbes, B. C. >
          • Men Who Are Making America
          • Men Who Are Making the West
          • Automotive Giants of America
          • Little Bits about Big Men
          • America's 50 Foremost Business Leaders
          • Scrapbook of Thoughts on Business of Life
          • America's Twelve Master Salesmen
          • 101 Unusual Experiences
        • Fortune Magazine >
          • USA: The Permanent Revolution
        • Shaw, A. W. >
          • Handling Men >
            • Why We Are Hiring Women
          • The Companion Series
    • Research Sites
    • Acknowledgements
  • 21st Century IBM
    • Corporate Performance >
      • Comparing KPIs
      • Brand Performance >
        • Forbes' Best Employer
      • Patent Performance >
        • 2021 Patent Performance
        • 2020 Patent Performance
        • 2019 Patent Performance
        • 2018 Patent Performance
      • Revenue Performance
    • Corporate Practices >
      • Acquisitions >
        • Acquisition: Red Hat >
          • A $35 Billion Gamble
          • IBM + Red Hat 2019 Results
        • Acquisitions: Goodwill
        • Acquisitions: Since 2001
      • Centralization >
        • A Lost Federation
        • The Need to Decentralize
      • Divestitures >
        • Kyndryl Analysis
        • Kyndryl Top Questions
        • Martin Schroeter
      • Employees >
        • Resource Actions
        • Age Discrimination >
          • Cutting Old Heads
        • Employee Engagement
        • Aren't Buying Into IBM
        • Massive Work Slowdown
        • Failure of Work at Home
      • Financial Engineering >
        • Workforce Rebalancing
        • Aggressive Bookkeeping
      • Shareholders >
        • Share Buybacks
        • Shareholder Risk
        • Employee Engagement
        • Warren Buffett's Mistake
        • Do Share Buybacks Work?
    • CEO Performance >
      • Arvind Krishna Overview >
        • Overall Performance >
          • Revenue & Profit
          • Revenue & Profit Growth
          • Revenue & Profit Productivity
          • IBM Market Value
          • Shareholder Returns & Risk
          • Employment Security
        • First Year Performance >
          • Revenue & Profit
          • Revenue & Profit Growth
          • Revenue & Profit Productivity
          • IBM Market Value
          • Shareholder Returns & Risk
          • Share Buybacks
        • The First 100 Days
      • Ginni Rometty Overview >
        • Shareholder Value
        • Shareholder Risk
        • Share Buybacks
        • Dividend Strategy
        • Acquisition Strategy
        • Revenue & Profit Productivity
        • Revenue & Profit Growth
        • Revenue & Profit
  • 20th Century IBM
    • Corporate Performance >
      • IBM's Greatest CEO >
        • Shareholder Returns
        • Revenue Growth
        • Revenue Per Employee
        • Profit Growth
        • Profit Per Employee
        • Market Value
        • Goodwill
        • Economic Contractions
        • Economic Expansions
        • Stock Market Headwinds
        • CEO Historic Footnotes >
          • IBM's Founding Team
          • Financial Engineering
          • The Greatest Gamble
    • Corporate Practices >
      • IBM Anniversaries
      • IBM Benefits
      • IBM Creativity >
        • IBM Cartoons
        • IBM Song Books
        • IBM UK Dictionary
        • IBM Computing Dictionary
      • IBM Wild Ducks >
        • The Wild Goose
        • Royal Dissenters
        • Corporate Constitution
        • Respect for the Individual
        • Service to the Customer
        • Pursuit of Excellence
    • Corporate Products >
      • 1890: U.S. Census
      • 1920: Dayton Scales
      • 1940: The Electromatic
    • Thomas J. Watson Sr. >
      • Articles by Watson >
        • On World Peace
        • On the Cost of War
        • On Public Education
        • On Thomas Jefferson
        • On Thoughtful Mistakes
        • On Stakeholder Relations
      • Articles about Watson >
        • The $1,000-A-Day Chief Executive Officer
        • Employees are Valued
        • Democracy's Man o' War
        • Human Relations in 1956
        • A CEO Who Earned His Pay
        • The Lengthening Shadow
      • Slice of Life Stories >
        • Dali, Salvador
        • Drucker, Peter F. >
          • Authority and Power
          • Short-Term Thinking
          • A Corporate Culture
          • Raising Business Issues
          • Focus on Principles
          • Character and Manners
          • Knowledge Workers
          • Recognizing Ability
          • Individual Respect
          • Employee Paternalism
        • Eastman, George
        • Penney, J. C. (James Cash) >
          • Watson Homestead
          • Golden Rule Businesses
        • Fighting Discrimination
      • Pre-World War II >
        • A Lost Dream of Peace
        • USO Camp Show Founder
      • World War II Effort >
        • Selling War Bonds
        • Production Awards
        • Controlling Profits
        • Machine Records Units
        • Wartime Contributions
        • Widows & Orphans Fund
        • Declaring Human Rights
        • Supporting Home Morale
        • Employee Military Service
        • War's End & Reconversion
      • Post-World War II >
        • Endicott Memorial
        • Poughkeepsie Memorial
        • Rehiring WWII Veterans
      • A Pajama Party
      • A 1943 Tax Problem
      • The Story of "THINK"
      • A Gift of Retirement
      • Learning from Crises
      • IBM Employee Housing >
        • Construction Timeline
      • Two Journalists "THINK"
      • A Buddy Davis Interview
      • Quotes of Watson
      • Quotes about Watson
      • Women in the Workplace
      • A Successful Rebranding
      • Tom Watson's Wild Ducks
  • Articles
    • Corporate Articles >
      • High-Performance Corporations
      • The Art of the Restart
      • Crises, Recoveries & Lessons Learned
      • Strategy Should Create Human Relationships
      • A Time-Tested Corporate Constitution
      • IBM, JC Penney and The Golden Rule
      • How IBM Created its 20th Century Brand
      • The Greatest Business Risk of the 20th Century
      • How to Grow a Business
      • The Importance of Sales Productivity
      • How Much Is a Great CEO Worth
      • Let Your Guard Down
    • Business Articles >
      • Business Witticism
      • The Golden Rule in Business
      • Who and What Built Early American Capitalism
      • Capitalism Needs Industrialist Minded CEOs
      • Producing Corporate True Steel
      • CEO Perspectives >
        • Rules of Success
        • Top Employee Qualities
        • Industrialist vs. Capitalist
      • An Open Letter to the World's CEOs
      • Henry Ford Takes Control
      • The Razor Blade Business Model
      • Two Successful 20th Century Businesswomen
      • Sears: A Dead Franchise Walking
      • A LinkedIn Incognito Mode
      • Value a College Education
    • Political Articles >
      • Political Witticisms
      • Memorial Day
      • Pursuing The "American Way"
      • America: Home of the Brave
      • Securing the Borders of the Americas
      • General Grant's Stand for Justice
      • America's Heartland Stands Strong
      • The New Freedom
      • Teddy Roosevelt on Socialism
      • Women as Citizens
      • Mary Slessor of Calabar
    • Spiritual Articles >
      • Inauguration Day Prayer
      • Wilson's Last Words
      • Spiritual Songs
    • Fiction Articles >
      • A Father's Love
      • Introducing a Friend to God
      • Hyphenated Relationships
  • Contact
  • Blog