IBM THINK Magazine Description and Overview
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Date Published: June 4, 2021
Date Modified: November 27, 2025 |
THINK Magazine: 1935 to 1970
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THINK Magazine was published from June 1935 through almost the turn of the 21st Century. Through December 1970 it was an external publication distributed at no charge to an external audience but especially for customers.
It rarely had information about IBM (some authors have written that it "never" had advertising but this is inaccurate as early issues of the magazine did have advertising--see included image) but was rather a publication devoted to creativity and was an eclectic collection of different articles by recognized authors, artists, educators and business people of the time. The type, diversity and range of thoughts covered in this magazine serve as the ultimate tribute to Watson Sr.'s oft used, repeated and quoted word: "THINK." Until the time of Watson Sr.'s death, every magazine began with one of his editorials. The image of the article included below "Introducing 'THINK'" was his introduction to the magazine in June 1935. |
December 1935's THINK Magazine included advertisements.
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Thomas J. Watson Sr. wrote 253 continuous editorials (with only one reprint) for each of the THINK Magazines until his death in 1956. Then a special THINK Magazine issue was released honoring his memory: THINK Magazine's July-August-September 1956 issue.
Recently [2024] all of Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s THINK Magazine editorials were republished as a single book entitled: "THINK Again!: Ideas and High Ideals for the 21st Century." The Preface, Introduction and Prologue for this anthology of Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s editorials and thoughts can be found at the following link: "THINK Again!: Ideas and High Ideals for the 21st Century."
Recently [2024] all of Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s THINK Magazine editorials were republished as a single book entitled: "THINK Again!: Ideas and High Ideals for the 21st Century." The Preface, Introduction and Prologue for this anthology of Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s editorials and thoughts can be found at the following link: "THINK Again!: Ideas and High Ideals for the 21st Century."
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These are images from the first issue of THINK Magazine in June 1935: Front Cover, Columbus, and Watson's Editorial.
THINK Magazine: 1971 to 1999
THINK Magazine in January 1971 was combined with IBM's internal magazine Business Machines (formerly IBM Business Machines Newspaper). Effective with this issue, the merged publication was distributed to employees only; the outside circulation of THINK was discontinued. The combined publication, named THINK, carried articles about the business, but, at times, also articles about other subjects, as the former THINK Magazine did for 36 years. This is apparent in the article below when four scholars share their thoughts on the coming machine age: The Object of Human Invention Is To Make Us Humane.
The last THINK Magazine that this author has been able to obtain was THINK Magazine, Volume 65, Number 1, published in January of 1999.
If anyone knows when and can document when the last THINK Magazine was published, let us know!
The last THINK Magazine that this author has been able to obtain was THINK Magazine, Volume 65, Number 1, published in January of 1999.
If anyone knows when and can document when the last THINK Magazine was published, let us know!
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The 1940 History Behind THINK Magazine
"About 1934 Thomas J. Watson Sr. began to feel that perhaps his employees were so busy improving their time in I.B.M. activities and education that they were missing out on the more abstract things. The company newspaper, Business Machines, was keeping them up in infinite detail on happenings within I.B.M. and the business world touching I.B.M.
"What was needed was a "clean and informative" publication to make them 'think about thinking.'
'If you ring only one bell,' says Mr. Watson, 'you hear only one sound.'
"The result of Tom Watson Sr.'s cogitation was the first issue of the monthly magazine, THINK Magazine, that was released in June, 1935. Now, about 70,000 copies are passed out to employees and friends of the Company; special editions run to 100,000. Eighty per cent of its feature articles are carefully sanitized excerpts from talks made by well-known leaders like Cordell Hull, whose foreign policy Mr. Watson approves; there are also book reviews, lectures on art, music, and sports.
"The hors d'oeuvre of each issue is a few hundred simple words on a notable salesman like Leonardo or Columbus, opposite the frontispiece reproduction of the individual, and signed in the steady hand of Mr. Watson himself. *
"What was needed was a "clean and informative" publication to make them 'think about thinking.'
'If you ring only one bell,' says Mr. Watson, 'you hear only one sound.'
"The result of Tom Watson Sr.'s cogitation was the first issue of the monthly magazine, THINK Magazine, that was released in June, 1935. Now, about 70,000 copies are passed out to employees and friends of the Company; special editions run to 100,000. Eighty per cent of its feature articles are carefully sanitized excerpts from talks made by well-known leaders like Cordell Hull, whose foreign policy Mr. Watson approves; there are also book reviews, lectures on art, music, and sports.
"The hors d'oeuvre of each issue is a few hundred simple words on a notable salesman like Leonardo or Columbus, opposite the frontispiece reproduction of the individual, and signed in the steady hand of Mr. Watson himself. *
"International Business Machines," Fortune Magazine, 1940
* These frontispiece pictures and Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s lead-in editorials are all included in a recent [2024] book publication entitled: "THINK Again!: Ideas and High Ideals for the 21st Century" which is available on Amazon as paperback, hardcover or Kindle.