This is the law: A tame duck never becomes wild, but a wild duck can certainly become tame.

Thomas J. Watson Sr.

IBM Wild Ducks Home Page

Published August 4, 2021
Updated January 11, 2022

Picture of three IBM Wild Ducks in flight.

Watson Sr. was probably the epitome of a "The Wild Duck." Fired from "The Cash" in 1913, he had to find a new job. He turned down many opportunities with several corporations and finally decided on C-T-R Company because it gave him the opportunity to run a business in his unique way. Maybe, he is one of the first stories of a successful wild duck.

As he turned forty, Tom Watson Sr. flew over a corporation composed of three dissimilar companies full of tame geese and called them to fly. And fly they did to become "The IBM."

IBM's Wild Ducks Were Actually Wild Geese

Soren Kierkegaard's Wild Goose

Watson Sr. and Watson Jr. both talked about Wild Ducks. Of course they summarized the story for their corporation, but for years I could never find Soren Kierkegaard's story. I began to wonder if it was a myth. I mean the "old man" was a pretty good story teller, so maybe he made it up.

That was until I read Kierkegaard's story about "The Wild Goose." It seems somewhere in all the telling, the goose became a duck.

IBM's Wild Ducks and The Basic Beliefs

Royal Dissenters

IBM at one time had a “Buck Rogers” and a “Mr. Rogers” all rolled into one.

Instead of “Buck Rogers of the 21st Century” it was “Buck Rodgers of the 20th Century” and instead of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” on PBS, it was “Buck Rodgers’ Culture” at IBM.

In this article Buck Rodgers describes the characteristics of a Wild Duck he calls a "The Royal Dissenter."

A Corporate Constitution

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.

This constitution at IBM was referred to as "The Basic Beliefs."

Respect for the Individual

Some individuals believe that “respectful disagreement” is an oxymoron like: “jumbo shrimp,” “open secret,” “half dead,” or, as we used to joke in the ’70s of the U.S. Army, “military justice.” Individuals, who see “respectful disagreement” in this manner, are “clearly confused.”

Sometimes individuals do go toe to toe with each other but respect matters.

Service to the customer

Jim Collins wrote in Built to Last that visionary companies treat profit like “oxygen, food, water, and blood for the body; they are not the point of life, but without them, there is no life.” Profits are a necessity: profits improve products, pay dividends, print paychecks, provide benefits, and safeguard social stability.

IBM maintained life through service to its customers but also extended this thought to all its stakeholders: service generated profits.

The Pursuit of Excellence

Too many individuals reading this basic belief, substitute perfection for excellence—the pursuit of perfection.

As a form of alliteration it is tempting but please, do resist … because it is traditionally wrong.

In the spring of 1962, Watson Jr. spoke at Columbia University about the basic belief of “striving for perfection,” but by 1969, it became the Pursuit of Excellence.

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