MBWA: Test Your Corporate Culture's Atmosphere!

This is a story adapted from an insight by Charles M. Schwab. The executive tale provides a unique perspective into what made the 20th Century IBM so great--building cathedrals, and what is causing the slow deterioration of the 21st Century IBM--laying brick:

Three men were laying brick. Each of the men in succession were asked: "What are you doing? "

• The first answered: "Laying some brick."
• The second said: "Working for twenty dollars an hour."
• The third, looking skyward, responded: "Helping build a magnificent cathedral."

Have you asked three employees what they are doing today? Are they earning a paycheck or building cathedrals? Yes, your employees own their self-motivation, but executives own the surrounding, cultural atmosphere that gives purpose to "laying brick."

Thomas J. Watson Sr. created at IBM an atmosphere of "Democracy in Business." Download and read this free article by Peter E. Greulich. It is his research into Watson Sr.'s philosophy of instilling a democratic spirit into his business--the 20th Century IBM.

​"Democracy" can and should be your corporate atmosphere.

Build cathedrals: Manage By Wandering Around!

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Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s "Democracy in Business."